In The Shadow
by rexlover180
Summary: Matthew Williams is one of the adopted sons of the famous Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy, the one that doesn't like the spotlight. One day, he gets kidnapped by the infamous Gilbert Beilschmidt, the criminal that has never been caught. As his family is desperate to get him back, Matthew finds himself oddly wanting to stay with the criminal. PruCan and FACE family.
1. Prologue

Matthew Williams was not a person people would normally pay attention to. They would normally pay attention to his brother, Alfred Jones, or his parents, Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy. They were an odd family, yes, but they were also a famous family, so of course they were supposed to be odd. Otherwise the media would simply ignore them.

A quick history, for the few of those reading this that don't know their famous story… 10 years ago, an 18-year-old Arthur Kirkland inherited a powerful company from his dead father. His brothers didn't appreciate that the youngest got the company, and he was basically disowned. In the years that followed, he was a lonely bachelor, obviously not interested in the women that tried to flock to him. One day, he mistook a man for a woman (a 21-year-old Francis Bonnefoy) and the two started a kind of nemesis relationship. Even though Francis knew full well who Arthur was, he treated him like a normal person. In the natural way of things, the hate slowly morphed into something more.

Needless to say, they became partners, though because of how society would refuse a gay relationship, the two kept it fairly secret. Until the day they adopted two nine-year-old children from America. Not a lot was known about the two children, other than the fact that they were twins, yet with completely divergent personalities. At the time, since the relationship was not yet official, Arthur took one child and Francis took the other. It was 5 years later when Arthur and Francis made their relationship official to the public and the family was united. Alfred and Matthew, the children, grew up knowing the other as just friends rather than twins, even before they were adopted, so they took to the change rather slowly.

Today, the twins are 17, slowly learning things about the famous Kirkland Company, though neither really showed much interest in it. Arthur and Francis are near or in their early 30s and hold a rather amazing life, in their own opinions.

Matthew Williams (the last name was picked out by Francis to be inconspicuous and was yet to be changed) was a very quiet teenager, preferring to say nothing and let his brother take over. This was the reason why he was dwarfed by all of the more dominant personalities around him, making it hard for him to be noticed. He liked the idea of being practically invisible, as it allowed him to be able to do things on his own. He had no intent on taking over the company with his brother like his fathers wanted. He would rather own some quiet book shop and be ignored by the world. He had soft, golden hair that was slightly long and curly, along with indigo eyes always hidden behind glasses. He was very small and frail, looking a couple years younger than his actual age.

Alfred Jones (another last name that had yet to be changed) was his near opposite. He was loud, always loving to be the center of attention. He was obsessed with being a hero, though he never really had very many options to be one. He had already spoken his dislike for taking over the company in favor of joining the military or becoming some other kind of domestic hero. He had the same color hair as Matthew, though it always seemed bolder. It was shorter, with an odd cowlick that he'd never been able to tame. He had bright blue eyes that were also behind glasses, but they still stood out more than Matthew's. He was pretty well built, despite his nearly constant diet of fast food.

Arthur Kirkland(neither he or Francis had changed their last names, both refusing to take the other name), an Englishman, was usually very serious. Being in charge of the large company, he was constantly working late and always very tired. Though he always held enough spunk to be able to bicker with his partner over whatever they had as a topic for the day. It usually had something to do with cooking, or sometimes Arthur's looks. No matter how much the two fought, though, they always seemed to get along well. He had ragged blonde hair that Francis nearly constantly teased him about, forest green eyes, and fairly large eyebrows that Alfred nearly constantly teased him about. He had a fairly small build, too, though he seemed to always be able to command authority around anyone. Except Alfred.

Francis Bonnefoy, a Frenchman, had a flirtatious air about him. Before meeting Arthur, he would practically bed a person every night. Though he would still flirt, which caused Arthur to yell at him, he never did it seriously unless it was towards his partner. He was generally a happy-go-lucky kind of person and took care of the twins most of the time, since Arthur was usually very busy. He had ensured that Matthew knew both French and English, but when he tried teaching another language to Alfred, he learned quickly that Alfred's cultural sensitivity was nonexistent. He had long, luscious blonde hair that he prided and bright blue eyes. He was very weak, though he could hold his own pretty well in a fight against Arthur no matter what happened.

Generally, in the gossip columns, all of the talk was about either Arthur and Francis, or whatever antics Alfred had gotten himself into. Matthew only ever managed to be in them if Alfred was dragging him along to pull a prank of some sort. This usually happened because his "epic superpower of invisibility" came in handy for Alfred.

Matthew liked not being in the spot light. He was shy and so the less time he had to spend surrounded by paparazzi, the better.

* * *

Currently, Matthew had managed to get out of the mansion while Francis was cooking dinner and was actually managing to have a peaceful afternoon. The family lived in England because that was where the company headquarters was, and they occasionally visited France, which Matthew didn't usually mind. Though it did get rather annoying when Alfred always demanded Matthew be his translator.

Matthew calmly waited in line to get some random thing of coffee and he was happy Francis wouldn't be hounding him about to ask how it tasted. (The Frenchman was always obsessed with how good his cooking was.) Matthew tried to calm his golden curls, get them out of his face as he waited, but as always it was a lost cause. He let out a sigh, pushing his glasses up his nose, successfully hiding his eyes. They were the one thing that would give him away if anyone actually bothered to pay any attention to him. He finally reached the front of the line.

He ordered something that would warm him up, trying to be as polite as he could. It was freezing outside, as it was near the middle of winter. He was wearing an oversized red sweater with a white maple leaf on it. A part of him wanted to believe that he was Canadian, since he still only partially believed Alfred was his twin. He was also wearing black, baggy sweatpants and all of the clothing easily overshadowed his small frame.

He waited to the side for his drink, decidin to take a look at the people inside the small coffee shop. There were one or two people typing away on laptops, letting their warm drinks slowly cool down to be lukewarm. There was a group of students that looked like they should be working, but they favored their drinks and talking over the papers scattered on the table. Some people in the line were impatiently staring at their watches, obviously waiting to get back to work. A mother and her daughter calmly sipped their hot chocolate near the fireplace. The TV in the corner silently showed the news that no one was paying attention to. Matthew smiled.

If he were more famous, everyone in here would immediately swarm him and he wouldn't be able to just stand in peace like this. As much as he apparently looked like Alfred, people seemed to be able to easily overlook him. It was very nice.

"Hey," a sudden voice made Matthew jump and he glanced to his side to find a man with snow white hair and ruby eyes looking at him with a wide smile. Matthew couldn't help but wonder if it was real hair or maybe hair dye or something. There were a lot of people that did that, right? The man started laughing as Matthew's eyes widened in surprise at both the man's appearance and the fact that he was actually talking to Matthew without (probably) knowing who he was. "Ja, I know, my awesomeness is just hard to overcome."

"Wh…wh…" Matthew stuttered, unable to come up with a cohesive statement.

"It's alright," the man laughed, messing up Matthew's hair, making the curls take over his face once again. "You looked kinda lonely, so I decided to be awesome and keep you company."

"I-I'm fine," Matthew mumbled. His voice had never been very loud, but when he was nervous, like right now, it was barely audible.

"What was that?" the man leaned closer to him, cupping a hand around his ear.

"I-I'm fine…" Matthew repeated himself, trying to be louder, though he was sure it came out at the same volume.

"You really gotta learn how to speak up, kid," the man laughed and Matthew noticed him glance to the door before quickly turning back to him. "The name's Gilbert, by the way."

"M-Matthew," Matthew stated. He was sure there was something familiar about this guy, and it was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't get it right now. He felt like the name was important. Matthew noticed that, despite the man's demeanor and his features, he actually looked like he was trying to blend in as best as he could. He wore basic, bland clothes and shoes that were obviously well used. He glanced at the door again.

"Jeez, what a formal name," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Who the hell would name their kid that?"

"My mom," Matthew stated and Gilbert blinked. Matthew had never really gotten to know his mom, but he didn't really feel a need to, to be perfectly honest. He was fine with just his two fathers.

"Fair enough," Gilbert laughed slightly, obviously trying not to attract attention to himself, though that seemed to be hard for him. He glanced at the door again.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Matthew asked.

"Me? Nah," Gilbert sighed. "It just looks really freaking cold out there and I'm gonna have to get moving soon."

"Right," Matthew nodded slowly. Gilbert glanced once again at the door.

"You're pretty cute, you know that?" Gilbert smirked and Matthew jumped. "You also look kinda familiar. I'm not sure how, though…"

"You, too," Matthew mumbled and Gilbert paused for a second before getting right back to his happy mood. He looked at the door again.

"I've just got one of those faces," Gilbert smirked. "I mean, come on, who hasn't seen an albino in their lives?"

"The closest I've been is an albino mouse," Matthew muttered.

"You saying I look like a mouse?" Gilbert laughed and this time it was loud. Gilbert noticed, apparently, and immediately tried to quiet himself down, smiling wickedly. "I like you, Birdie."

"My name is Matthew."

"I like Birdie better," Gilbert shrugged. "It kinda suits you, I dunno."

"Why do you keep looking at the door?" Matthew asked while Gilbert was glancing, once again, at the door.

"Just nervous to go outside, I guess," Gilbert shrugged. "Aren't you? It's freezing out there."

"I kinda like the cold," Matthew shrugged. He's always loved the snow, especially back in France, when Francis would play with him in their large backyard.

"Ja, well, not everybody does," Gilbert laughed. "I've spent way too many nights in the snow."

"Do you not have a home?" Matthew asked, suddenly feeling guilty…Maybe if he asked Francis nicely enough, he might let Gilbert stay…

"I prefer to live on the road," Gilbert shrugged. "Living in one place drives me crazy. It's pretty awesome, though. And always exciting."

"Right," Matthew nodded slowly. He suddenly seemed a lot more familiar.

"Well, I should go," Gilbert reached behind Matthew and pulled a coffee from behind him. Matthew couldn't help but notice that it had his name written on it.

"Hey, that's mine," Matthew stated and Gilbert winked.

"See you around, Birdie." He then ran out the door at sprinting speed. Shortly after, red and blue lights began flashing and he heard a siren.

"Turn up the TV!" one of the business men demanded and the girl behind the counter fumbled with the controller.

The news reporter was obviously in the middle of what she was saying. "…criminal Gilbert Beilschmidt has been seen in London, England. Those near the area highlighted on the map should be on the lookout for this man. Once again, he has white hair and he has red eyes. If you spot him, call the police immediately."

Matthew's knees felt weak. He had just talked to a known criminal. Not just a criminal…it was Gilbert Beilschmidt. He'd stolen millions of dollars' worth of paintings, jewelry, people…He'd kidnapped several people and even shot a few policemen. He was known throughout the world as the criminal who couldn't be caught.

If he had known who Matthew really was…

"Mattie! There you are!" Alfred rushed into the coffee shop and people immediately turned their attention to the two. Matthew looked to his older brother. His blonde hair was windblown with a few specs of snow melting here and there. His bright blue eyes were filled with concern.

"Is that…Alfred Jones?"

"Then that must be Matthew Williams!"

"How could we not see it?"

"Wasn't he the one talking to…"

"That criminal is here, what were you thinking!" Alfred yelled at him and Matthew didn't respond, still slightly in shock. "Everyone was saying they saw him come out of here! Are you okay?"

"I was talking to him," Matthew muttered. "I-I didn't know who he was..."

"Let's get you home, alright?" Alfred grabbed onto Matthew's wrist and started dragging him out of the small coffee shop.

Matthew had just talked to a criminal like someone he'd just met on the street. Just some person who wanted conversation, perfectly harmless. He could have gotten kidnapped… Matthew didn't even calm down when he was back in the safety of his own home. He just wanted to curl up with his stuffed bear and go to sleep.

* * *

**Alright! New FanFic! I know I shouldn't be writing so much, but I just can't help it! Inspiration struck out of nowhere! This is my first FanFic, I think, that wasn't inspired by something else, like a movie or a song. So I'm pretty proud of it!**

**Anyway, this is the FACE family, which I adore, even though I primarily ship USUK. For the sake of this story, though, I will ship FrUK. There isn't much of it, though, since the main pairing is PruCan. For now, we have our intro, in which we know about possibly the most famous family in the world. And Gilbert was just a bit distracted by being tracked down by the police, so he didn't have time to think about how he knew Matthew. Matthew, on the other hand, is just a bit ditsy at the moment, so he wasn't thinking well until after Gilbert was gone. To be honest, if I found out I was just talking to a criminal that could have easily kidnapped me, I would be very traumatized, so that's why Matthew is very out of it at the end..**

**Anyway, because school sucks, expect updates once every week, at the latest. I will try to write when I can, but I am very busy and my dad is stressing me out with a bunch of scholarship shit that I don't need to deal with right now.**

**Anywho (according to Microsoft, that's not a word, I'm very sad), that's it, so please review! It's totally awesome like Gilbert.**

**And I do not and never will own Hetalia.**


	2. Taken

Matthew let out a sigh, resting his head in his hand as he tried to look out the tinted windows of the limousine he and his family were inside of. They were supposed to be going to some sort of dinner party that Matthew knew he would not enjoy. They were all dressed up in suits and Matthew was sure his family would keep him in sight at all times. Ever since he had talked to Gilbert Beilschmidt, his parents never let him out of their sight. So he probably would not be able to just sit in the corner of this party and remain unnoticed as he usually did. He preferred to not be in the public eye, that was a job for his brother to do, not him.

The limo finally stopped and Francis and Arthur stopped their bickering for now, setting it aside to be dealt with later, and stepped out of the door that was opened for them.

"Come on, Mattie," Alfred nudged him. "You know you love all the paparazzi."

"No amount of time being famous will get me over being shy, Al," Matthew sighed and followed his brother out of the door, soon to be blinded with flashes of cameras. Alfred seemed to revel in the attention and smiled and milked it for all it was worth. Meanwhile, Matthew simply dug his hands into his pockets and followed Arthur and Francis as closely as he could. It wasn't that long of a walk into the building, but it felt like an eternity to Matthew. He never liked all of this attention.

They were stopped by the large crowd near the entrance of the building and Matthew let out a sigh he couldn't even hear over all of the noise around him. Before long, the crowd grew around them and he was basically surrounded on all sides. He hated being around so many people, but he made sure to stay around Arthur and Francis, who were still bickering for bickering's sake.

Just as they were about to move forward, someone grabbed onto Matthew's arm and pulled him backwards, through the crowd. He yelped and tried to call out to Francis, Arthur, and even Alfred, but his voice was dwarfed by the crowd around him.

"Hey, Birdie, remember me?" a voice said behind him when they were on the very edge of the crowd and they started running. More like the person dragging him started running and Matthew had no choice but to follow. He glanced back at the crowd, never wanting to be a part of it more than he did now. Just the sound of that voice made him freeze. His mind seemed to stop and he felt as if he was about to faint or something close to it.

Matthew tried to dig his feet into the ground to get them to stop and it did manage to successfully slow them down, causing the albino who was dragging him to groan and stop, turning around towards him.

"You've gotta learn to be a bit more compliant," Gilbert Beilschmidt stated.

"Wh-wh-wh…" Matthew couldn't even get a word out of his mouth. He felt like he was about to have a panic attack. Was he really getting kidnapped?

"Jeez, you get even more awkward when you're freaking out," the criminal sighed. "You gotta learn to speak up and not stutter."

"I…I…wh…" Matthew couldn't bring his mind to a proper train of thought to actually form words.

"Keep it moving, Birdie, I'm not gonna get caught," Beilschmidt smirked and started running once again. Matthew glanced back at the small part of the crowd he could still see of that party as he had to run with the man once again.

It took Matthew only about a minute to remember that he had his cell phone in his pocket and immediately started to use his free hand to pull it out. Before he could get very far, though, Beilschmidt pushed him against a brick wall and Matthew gasped.

"You're so freaking jumpy!" Beilschmidt laughed as Matthew tried to focus on breathing, he was freaking out so badly. "I knew I recognized you, but it took be a bit after I left that coffee shop to actually figure it out. You're Matthew Williams! The freaking son of Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy!"

Matthew tried to get himself to say something, anything, but all that he had managed to get out was a whimper. There was no way he could even move with this criminal pinning him to the brick wall.

"I take it by your silence that you figured out why I'm so familiar," Beilschmidt smirked. "I know, I'm just too awesome for words, right?"

Matthew felt himself shaking against the wall and tried to think up some way to call either of his parents or even Alfred. Or just someone. If anyone knew what was happening, then maybe this criminal could be stopped before he got away.

"Gott, I can't believe my break," Beilschmidt smirked and did something that made Matthew jump even more. He stuck his hand into Matthew's pocket.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Matthew managed out a rushed, whispered sentence that even he barely heard. The criminal simply smirked and pulled out Matthew's smart phone.

"Easy way or hard way?" Beilschmidt asked. "What's your password?"

"M-Maple," Matthew muttered.

"Is that seriously your password?" the criminal raised an eyebrow and Matthew faintly nodded. "Jeez," he rolled his eyes and inputted the password, putting one hand on Matthew's shoulder to keep him pinned down. "Which one would be more hilarious to call? Your bruder or the vaters?"

Matthew kept his mouth shut, simply deciding that saying nothing would be his best decision.

"From what I've seen of that Alfred kid, I'd say that'd be the best option to go," Beilschmidt continued his own conversation with himself. "Mr. Self-Proclaimed Hero. That'll be interesting to listen to."

As the criminal was lost in his thoughts, Matthew noticed that his hold on him against the wall loosened slightly. Matthew immediately took this to his advantage and took off running as quickly as he could. He was pretty fast, priding himself in his speed, which was better than Alfred's, and tried to get over to where that party was.

Before he got very far, though, Beilschmidt pinned him onto the ground, leading to Matthew scraping his hands and face.

"So much for getting you back without a scratch on you," Beilschmidt sighed and something cold clamped around Matthew's right wrist. He glanced over at the wrist and found half a pair of handcuffs, his heart plummeting. Beilschmidt smirked, holding up his left wrist, which had the other half of the handcuffs. "No more getting away for you, my little Birdie."

With that, he pulled out the phone once again and started calling someone.

* * *

"Mattie?!" Alfred called out, walking around the annoying people that wouldn't get out of his way. They were all eating random finger foods that Alfred could never get full on and all talking about something he couldn't care less about. At some point in that crowd outside, Alfred had lost his brother and he was desperately trying to find him. Matthew never did well with crowds and he could easily be having a panic attack right now or something. "Mattie!"

"Alfred, there you are, we've been looking for you," Arthur sighed behind Alfred and he glanced back to see his parents. Francis seemed pleasantly happy to be there, basking in the attention and holding a glass of wine while Arthur just seemed mildly irritated about the whole thing.

"Have you guys seen Mattie?" Alfred asked them.

"We figured he would have been with you," Francis stated, glancing worriedly at Arthur.

"I lost him in that crowd up front," Alfred stated. "I haven't been able to find him anywhere."

Suddenly, Alfred's phone began to ring, the Canadian anthem so that it was easy to remember it was Matthew calling. He let out a sigh of relief and swiftly answered it.

"Dude, where have you been?" Alfred immediately asked him. "I think I lost you in that crowd, dude, you've gotta be more careful."

"_Wow, are you seriously that freaking dense_?" an unfamiliar voice laughed on the other line and Alfred's grip on his phone tightened.

"Who the fuck are you?" Alfred growled to the person on the other end and Arthur and Francis immediately looked concerned.

"_Aw, you're so sweet_," the man chuckled. "_The name's Gilbert Beilschmidt_." Alfred felt his stomach drop. That criminal came back for Matthew?

"What did you do to my brother?" Alfred immediately demanded. Arthur and Francis immediately glanced at each other and Arthur pulled out his own phone and began calling someone.

"_Aw, he's fine, just a little scraped up 'cause he tried to get away_," Beilschmidt sighed. "_So un-awesome_."

"_Al?_" Matthew's soft voice came through and Alfred felt rage boil inside of him. His brother sounded terrified, even more so than when he was surrounded by people.

"_Oi, Birdie, shush_," Beilschmidt stated.

"What do you want?" Alfred snapped. He knew that they were going to catch this guy, there was no way they were going to let him keep his brother, and when he did, he wanted to beat the shit out of him. For now, though, he had to focus on the matter at hand. Matthew was kidnapped and that meant that this guy wanted ransom.

"_I don't know yet_," Beilschmidt admitted. "_I think I'll get around to deciding that later, but not now. I just figured you'd want to know that your bruder is in good hands. I'll need him in good shape to give him back, right?_"

"Are you shitting me right now?" Alfred demanded.

"_Oh, relax_," Beilschmidt sighed. "_It's not like he's gonna die. I'm way too awesome to let that happen. Anyway, I'm pretty much done now. I'll text you when I've decided on what I want_."

"Hey! Don't just-" and Beilschmidt hung up. "Bastard!" Alfred snapped, dropping his hand with his phone.

"Who was it?" Francis asked and Alfred bit his lip. He didn't want to look into his parent's eyes and tell them that a world renowned criminal had kidnapped their other son.

"Alfred," Arthur broke off his current call, most likely to the police.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt," Alfred stated and Francis dropped his glass, which shattered upon making contact on the ground. Arthur looked about ready to have a panic attack and Francis started muttering in French.

"We're leaving," Arthur stated, returning to his call and started walking towards the exit, not even caring if he ran into someone. Francis and Alfred followed close behind.

"What did he say?" Francis asked Alfred. "What did he want?"

"He said he didn't know yet," Alfred gritted his teeth, clenching his hands into fists, not caring how harshly he gripped onto his phone.

"Yes, we will be at the house shortly," Arthur nodded and hung up his phone. "The man said he didn't want anything?"

"Not yet, at least," Alfred nodded. "It's like he's just messing with us."

"That's Beilschmidt," Arthur muttered darkly as they left the party. Arthur immediately set out to get their limo returned to them.

"How did I not see him disappear?" Francis pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The second we catch that bastard, I'm gonna make him wish he was never born," Alfred growled.

"Perhaps that may not be the best option," Francis stated and Alfred looked at his father curiously. He was honestly giving thsi guy any mercy? After kidnapping Matthew?! "After all, there are plenty of other people willing to do the exact same thing."

"People are still arriving," Arthur stated, coming back to the two, "so it may be a while before we can leave."

"Who did you call?" Francis asked.

"The police, naturally," Arthur rolled his eyes. "They said they would be sending a few officers to meet us at the house as well as have a few scouting around this area."

"Did he say anything about Matthieu?" Francis asked Alfred, obviously trying to get information about his situation. Honestly, Alfred hardly knew anything. As much as it would probably pay off to be able to be all detective, there was literally nothing to go off of.

"He said that he was a little scraped up from trying to run away," Alfred stated. "But that was it."

"So help me, if there is one scratch on that boy when we get him back, I will…" Arthur seemed at a loss for something to do at the end of his sentence.

"Have his head?" Francis offered and Arthur sighed.

"That does seem like the most appealing option," Arthur nodded.

"There's no way that jerk will be getting away with this," Alfred stated. "I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him."

* * *

**The FACE family is so wonderfully protective, I love it! And Mattie is now kidnapped, so the plot can get a move on! So exciting! I'm hoping this fic will last a while, but I'm not sure because of school and other such annoying things.**

**Please review! It's wonderful and will tell me if I need to do anything to help y'all with the story!**


	3. Secrets

While Matthew was about to have a heart attack, Gilbert was having the time of his life. He hadn't gotten a good score like this in a while. He didn't exactly like robbing places, and besides, the pay-off for something like this would be amazing. Then again…this kid seemed pretty awesome. He might just have to wait a while before he told Alfred what he wanted for this kid. Because of Gilbert's awesome reputation, people generally just gave him what he wanted rather than try to catch him. It always failed anyway, ever since he was a little kid.

They were running through the city. Not fast enough to draw attention to them, of course. They probably looked like teenagers running around just to cause some kind of trouble. Gilbert had flipped his hood up, knowing he was way too easy to spot with his hair, even at night. Once again, Matthew tried to stutter something coherent and Gilbert just laughed. His little Birdie was hilarious.

"I'm gonna have to teach you how to enunciate, kid," Gilbert laughed and ducked into a dark alley way, stopping to let Matthew catch his breath. The kid looked terrified, leaning against the brick wall with wide eyes. His glasses were skewed, though that just added to his adorable factor. "You're gonna have to get used to running around me, Birdie. You're pretty out of shape."

"I-I'm not p-p-panting out of… e-exercise," Matthew stuttered and Gilbert could notice him shaking.

"Relax," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I've gotta keep you in good shape, right?" Matthew stayed quiet, staring at the ground. "Oi, pay attention to the awesome me while I'm talking. I have to keep you in good shape, right?"

"R-r-right," Matthew stuttered.

"Then that means you're fine," Gilbert smirked and saw blue and red lights decorate the night around them. "Damn, they're working quick. I wonder if that chick is in town or something. Anyway, Birdie, I'm mainly interested in saving my own skin. The way we are now, you're attached to my skin. So that means you're probably the safest you've ever been in your life."

"N-n-not really," Matthew muttered.

"What, were you safer around that family of yours that didn't even notice an albino kidnap you?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow and Matthew stayed quiet, looking at something on the ground he apparently found very interesting. "Whatever, I'm awesome, so you'll be fine. And I'm definitely not interested in getting caught." Gilbert glanced down at the handcuffs that he had actually managed to steal off of a cop without him noticing. He figured they would come in handy with something like this. He smirked knowing that this was the most he would ever be attached to one of these things. "Let's keep moving."

Gilbert swiftly moved further into the alleyway. There was a dumpster at the end and a few windowsills, only one of them with a light on. Gilbert flipped his hood down, looking up. The building seemed large enough.

"Y-you do kn-know that the s-s-street is th-that way, r-r-right?" Matthew stuttered out, pointing at the street with his free, left hand.

"If you hadn't noticed, that's where the people trying to get me are," Gilbert smirked back at him. "Don't worry, you'll catch on quick around me."

"I d-don't think th-that's a g-g-good thing…" Matthew muttered.

"You're fine," Gilbert sighed and easily climbed on top of the dumpster, helping Matthew up. The kid was being surprisingly compliant with all of it. He probably admitted that he was weaker than Gilbert's awesome muscles and couldn't even try to run away. Granted, Gilbert's plan wasn't exactly flawless, but it was fairly good. Matthew's smart phone (shut off, of course) was sitting in Gilbert's pocket. He normally tried to keep things out of his pocket and it felt oddly heavy, but he would probably have to keep it around for a while. Gilbert also didn't have the key to this certain pair of handcuffs, so it would be impossible for Matthew to try to get out of them. He doubted Matthew's "papa" and taught him how to pick locks.

Gilbert rubbed his hands together before he easily jumped up and gripped onto the bottom of a windowsill without their lights on.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Matthew asked.

"We," Gilbert stated, emphasizing the fact that Matthew would have to come with him no matter what now, "are going to climb to the top of this building."

"Why?" Matthew squeaked.

"Awesome reasons," Gilbert stated, easily kneeling down on the windowsill while still keeping his left arm down so that Matthew's poor, little arm wouldn't have to be stretched. Gilbert kept a good grip on the bricks around him with his right hand and opened up his left hand. "Now, you're gonna grab onto this hand and I'll help you up, got it?"

Matthew glanced back at the street, where Gilbert was thankful the police weren't already on. They were moving fairly slow now, but if Gilbert really wanted to, he could carry Matthew the whole way up the building. He was just trying to be nice to his new "companion." Luckily, Matthew nodded slowly and held onto his hand. Gilbert couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Matthew wanted to be there more than he was letting on. Interesting.

Gilbert helped him onto the windowsill where they were now both crouching. Gilbert glanced at the windowsill with a light and found an old lady in the kitchen, her back to them and seemingly in her own little world.

"How good are you at climbing?" Gilbert asked.

"Um…I-I'm alright," Matthew muttered. Gilbert looked him over. The suit he was in probably didn't allow for a lot of movement, plus there was the fact that he was kind of scrawny. But that little run he had had a few minutes ago was fairly impressive, so at least he had speed. Maybe he had a little agility in there, too.

"Awesome," Gilbert nodded and slowly stood up, careful to keep his balance. Matthew slowly did the same, obviously looking at the ground a little too much. Gilbert ensured that his right hand would constantly have a good grip in case the kid fell and he would have to catch him. That fall may not be bad now, but it could get there really soon. Gilbert found a few bricks that were jutting out more than the rest and swiftly grabbed hold of them. Matthew surprisingly followed suit fairly well and Gilbert let out a small laugh. Before long, they had both managed to make it to the roof and Gilbert stretched happily. It was only a three story building, but it was still a good climb.

The old lady seemed to have noticed them and finally looked out her window. She let out a scream and both Gilbert and Matthew looked back at her.

"Ready to run, Birdie?" Gilbert smirked.

"Across buildings?" Matthew's eyes widened.

"Best way to travel," Gilbert winked and started running, Matthew following soon behind.

Gilbert smirked when he noticed that Matthew didn't even complain. Last time he kidnapped someone (old business dude, never again) they complained left and right and Gilbert had to pull more than their weight to get them around. Matthew was going along with all of it. He wanted to be there, at least slightly, and Gilbert was curious to know why.

* * *

Arthur was pacing. Francis was sitting in a chair, biting his thumb nail nervously. Alfred was leaning against a pillar in the main hall of their mansion, staring at the door and just willing for the doorbell to ring. The police were sending someone who had apparently been after Beilschmidt for years. Alfred just hoped that he was good. That damn criminal still hadn't told him what he wanted to give his brother back.

Finally, the door rang and Alfred was the first at the door. He really hoped the guy going after Beilschmidt would be good. The more Alfred thought of that bastard being anywhere near his brother, the more pissed off he got.

Alfred swung the door open swiftly and his heart dropped when he saw who was at the door. It was just a girl. She had long, wavy brown hair, bright green eyes, and a delightful smile. She was beautiful, though her outfit was a bit…not beautiful. It was all black, simple pants and a black jacket. She was wearing sneakers that were obviously well worn and she was holding a…frying pan?

"Are you agent Héderváry?" Arthur asked behind Alfred.

"Herde-what?" Alfred turned towards him and Arthur hit him upside the head.

"Ow!" Alfred snapped.

"Yes," the woman giggled and Alfred blinked in surprise when he saw the amount of police behind her. "May we come in?"

"Oui, of course mademoiselle," Francis chimed.

"Don't make me hit you as well," Arthur warned the Frenchman, who simply shrugged and the woman easily made her way in, followed by at least 10 of the people behind her.

"I could easily take care of that," the woman chimed, twirling her frying pan expertly in her hands.

"Wait, is this that person that's been going after Beilschmidt for years?" Alfred asked, dumbfounded, and shut the door with his foot after the last of them walked inside.

"I'm the one person that's gotten him within ten feet of capture," the woman said proudly and Alfred felt his heart drop again. That was closest anyone had gotten to this criminal? Poor Matthew as probably terrified and their chances of getting him back were slowly dwindling.

"Well, Ms. Héd-"

"You can call me Eliza," the woman chimed, cutting him off. Alfred followed closely behind as Francis and Arthur began leading her into the dining room. "It's short for Elizaveta."

"What a beautiful name, ma belle," Francis chimed. Surprisingly, rather than gigging like any other girl that Francis tried to flirt with, Elizaveta simply glared daggers at him and held her frying pan at the ready.

"I wasn't joking about this thing," she stated and Alfred laughed.

"I like this chick," Alfred laughed.

"Yes, well, she's not just here for small talk," Arthur sighed, massaging his forehead.

"Right," Elizaveta returned the frying pan to her side. "We need to act quickly. If I know Beilschmidt, he's going to be leaving the country soon. We need to get your son back before he does that."

"Leaves the country?" Arthur stopped in his tracks, just a few steps away from the door to the dining room. Alfred stopped as well and Francis simply let out a sigh, nodding.

"That does sound about right," Francis nodded. Alfred gave him an odd look and Arthur glared at him. "For a criminal who is always on the move," Francis added quickly, "it makes perfect sense that he would leave the country quickly."

"Elizaveta," Arthur straightened himself out, walking towards the door and opening it for her, "I do believe we have something to discuss that may assist us."

"Really?" Elizaveta asked curiously, stepping into the room. Francis followed suit and Alfred moved to follow them all, but Arthur pressed a simple hand to his chest to stop him.

"Alfred, I need you to call Scott," Arthur stated, looking at the ground.

"What? Why?" Alfred asked. He knew for a fact Arthur and Uncle Scott (or any of his uncles for that matter) were not on good terms at all. The one time Alfred met Scott, he and Arthur were practically at each other's throats. It wasn't a brotherly kind of fight, that much was obvious. The way Arthur was acting, though, it was obvious he just didn't want Alfred around. What kind of secrets were they talking about in there?

"If they are going to be leaving the country soon, we need as many eyes as possible out there looking," Arthur muttered. "Please, just do this for me? I would rather not be the one to call him."

"You just want me out of that room," Alfred crossed his arms over his chest. "What secrets are you keeping from me?"

"That is not important," Arthur sighed, glancing back at the room. "Just call him, alright? He seemed to like you well enough when you two met that one time."

"You are hiding something from me," Alfred mumbled, disheartened. Arthur promised him that he never kept secrets. In exchange, neither did Alfred. Even if he did something bad, he would always go to Arthur. Sure, sometimes he would blame it on Matthew, but that was small stuff. Things like throwing a baseball into a priceless vase, Alfred would definitely take the fall for. "Why?"

"You do not need to know this," Arthur stated quickly, turning towards the room. "Please, just be a good lad and call your uncle. And please do not listen in like I know you want to."

"What are you keeping from me?" Alfred demanded.

"I can't tell you that," Arthur snapped. "Francis and I are the only two that know. We are only talking about it now because it could be of some help. Now, please, just leave us alone for a few minutes."

"So much for never keeping secrets," Alfred grumbled, brushing past Arthur to walk down the hallways.

"Alfred," Arthur called out to him, but Alfred just shook his head and continued walking, around a corner. Arthur let out a heavy sigh and the door closed.

"What the hell is so important that I can't even be around?" Alfred muttered to himself. It must be something big, but if only Francis and Arthur knew, then that meant that it was major. But why would it help the investigation?

* * *

**Oh, my God, it's only chapter three and people are already keeping secrets? Bad parents, don't keep secrets from your kids! Actually, this secret's pretty big, so I understand. What is it? Well, it won't be a secret if you know, now will it? Don't worry, you'll learn about it later, so don't be impatient, my lovelies! Also, we got a little splash of Gilbert's perspective there and something interesting is happening to Matthew!**

**I'm really happy with this chapter, all of the secrets are so amazing! It's great to start a new fanfic after so long of having my others, it's refreshing!**

**Anywho, please review and I will see you around next chapter!**


	4. Staying

"We'll stop here," Gilbert stated suddenly, stopping without warning, causing Matthew to run into him. They'd been running for some time, leaping over buildings. If Alfred had been in this situation, he'd be thinking he was a super hero…If Alfred were in this situation, he would have gotten himself out of this by now…

Why wasn't Matthew trying to get away anymore? He'd noticed that there were multiple occasions where he could have easily slowed this criminal down and possibly gotten them caught, but he helped him. He climbed up that wall, he'd been running with him, rather than trying to run away. Why? Could it possibly be something as petty as the fact that Gilbert was actually paying attention to him? Or maybe it was just because it was an adventure? Matthew hadn't done anything particularly exciting since he and Alfred were in America and they'd gotten lost in the woods. Now, he was simply told to stay in a mansion. This criminal was providing an adventure, something fun… Did Matthew really want to stay around?

"Here?" Matthew panted, watching as his breath puffed in front of his face in the cold air. There was not much heat provided by his jacket and even Gilbert looked cold, though it was obvious he was trying not to show it. Matthew looked around at where they were. They had managed to work their way up buildings, all of them being close together, and were now five stories up. Matthew tried to stay away from the edge of the buildings as much as he could, having a small fear of heights. The wind whipped past them and Gilbert smiled to himself, closing his eyes for a short while before turning back to Matthew happily.

"Why not?" Gilbert smirked. Matthew had to be taken aback by how…excited Gilbert was. If he didn't know better, he would say that Gilbert was similar to Alfred. Though Gilbert seemed far more hyper than Alfred ever was. And this was at night, in the cold, after running from the police.

"Because w-we're on a b-b-building?" Matthew cursed his stutter. He couldn't help but be kind of scared around a well-known criminal. Matthew even stuttered around just simple new people he would talk to. If they got a new maid or something, he could never talk to them without stuttering like crazy. He was just so damn shy…

"On top of a building is the best place to sleep," Gilbert said happily, stretching his hands above his head, causing Matthew's attached hand to move as well. "I've done it a lot, since I'm awesome."

"I-I c-can't sleep on t-top of a b-b-building…" Matthew muttered, shying away from the edge.

"You've been compliant this whole time, though," Gilbert groaned, dropping his hands. Matthew bit his lip, glancing at the ground, but making sure to keep the edges of the building out of view. He had been way too compliant and he knew that. His family would probably chew him out if they knew how much he'd actually gone along with. Was it all simply for an adventure? "God, are you afraid of heights or something, Birdie?"

"A-a little," Matthew muttered.

Gilbert was silent for a bit and, when Matthew looked up at him, he saw Gilbert staring at the rest of the night sky, deep in thought. He was tapping his foot and Matthew had to wonder what was going through his head. Matthew glanced up at the sky, seeing it clear. If he had to stay outside all night, at least it wasn't going to snow or rain…

"I've got an idea," Gilbert smirked and simply knelt down to the ground. He patted the ground with the hand that was attached to Matthew, causing the boy to lean over slightly. "Come on."

"Wh-what are you d-d-doing?" Matthew asked. It was just a simple sentence for crying out loud and he couldn't just get that out? Curse his shyness!

"Just kneel down with me," Gilbert stated, looking up at him.

Matthew slowly nodded and knelt down next to the man, who nodded in approval at what Matthew was doing before looking back out, over the end of the building Matthew was purposefully ignoring. There was a good meter between them and the edge, for which Matthew was grateful.

"Alright, now, do me a favor and look over the edge," Gilbert smirked.

"N-no thanks," Matthew shook his head.

"I can easily just make you look," Gilbert deadpanned and Matthew bit his lip. "We're not gonna be getting very far here if you're too scared to look over the edge of a five story building."

"We shouldn't…be going very…far," Matthew talked slowly in an effort to stop his stuttering, though now he just sounded like an idiot. Even Gilbert laughed, though that might have had something to do with what Matthew had actually said. Or…rather, whispered.

"I'm not getting caught, Birdie," Gilbert stated. "And you're staying around until this kidnapping thing ends, which means you're moving with me. We're at least going to be leaving the country together soon."

"Leave the country?!" Matthew gasped, his voice raising to the level of a normal conversation, though that was him yelling at this point.

"Just think of it as an adventure," Gilbert laughed, messing up Matthew's hair.

"I'm not leaving the country," Matthew shook his head, feeling himself tremble. He knew it was from more than the cold. He couldn't leave the country with a stranger. Let alone this stranger. Matthew grew confused as Gilbert started laughing, holding onto his stomach with his free hand as he did so.

"The first full sentence you say when you're not freaking out and it's that?" Gilbert cackled, obviously not afraid of attracting attention all the way up there on the buildings.

"I'm not leaving the country," Matthew repeated himself.

"We'll see, Birdie," Gilbert patted him on the back. "Anyway, just take a look at the city for me."

Matthew simply shook his head and Gilbert let out a sigh.

"One second you're being the perfect little hostage and the next you're being stubborn as hell," Gilbert sighed, flopping onto his back and Matthew jumped at the sudden movement. "Whatever, but I'm not moving, so I'd suggest you get used to it up here."

"But…what…" Matthew struggled to get a grasp of the situation as Gilbert simply closed his eyes and looked as if he'd swiftly drifted off into sleep. Matthew figured it was just something the man was used to. He had to always be on the run, after all. He probably had to learn to get to sleep quickly and be able to do it anywhere, but also sleep lightly.

Matthew let out a sigh, the puff of air visible just in front of his face. He couldn't bring himself to fall asleep up here. It was cold and he was five stories up from the ground! What if he moved in his sleep? What if someone came up there and tried to do something and Gilbert wasn't quick enough to protect him?

…

Was Matthew really relying on Gilbert to protect him? He had promised that much, after all. Matthew couldn't exactly bring himself to trust the criminal, but he could rely on him for protection. At least, for as long as it helped Gilbert.

Matthew let out another sigh, glancing at the ground around him. He found a simple, small pin that could have gotten up there for any reason. Matthew picked it up, finding it rusty and covered in dust. Letting out a hum, Matthew inserted it into the keyhole of the handcuffs. A while ago, Francis had taught him how to pick locks when they were trapped inside during a snow storm. Matthew had remembered it quite well and was pretty surprised how quickly his papa could do something like that. He wasn't anywhere near as quick as him, but Matthew had gotten fairly good at it.

Within a few seconds, the lock clicked and released around Matthew's wrist. Matthew simply grinned to himself, putting the pin into his pocket and closing the handcuffs once more around his wrist. As long as he could get away any time he wanted, he might as well stick around for a bit. Maybe get that adventure he'd been thinking about.

* * *

Alfred was pouting. It was un-heroic and he knew it, but he couldn't help it. Apparently, his parents had been keeping something big from him, something he couldn't find out about. A part of him wanted to simply listen through that door, but he knew he shouldn't. Besides, after he'd called Uncle Scott and told him (which resulted in Alfred nearly going deaf in one ear with the Scotsman freaking out) and he tried passed by the door, they had apparently moved on to a completely knew conversation, which Alfred still couldn't be a part of. So, he'd wound up in Matthew's room, sulking on his bed while hugging Kumajirou, Matthew's stuffed bear that he always slept with, since before they were even adopted. He kept it in surprisingly good shape, the fur was still pure white and there wasn't a single rip or loose thread.

Alfred let out a sigh, falling backwards onto Matthew's bed. It was annoying how they were just sitting around, planning, while Matthew was out there, in the cold, with that criminal. If they were likely to leave the country soon, didn't that mean they were supposed to act now to try to get him back? The second they leave the country, it'll get a hell of a lot harder to find them.

"Alfred, what are you doing in here?" Arthur asked from the doorway.

"Smoking weed," Alfred stated in monotone while staring up at the dark ceiling, as he hadn't turned on the light in the room. Alfred figured that, as long as Arthur wasn't telling the truth to him, then Alfred just shouldn't tell him the truth either.

"Alfred, I am sorry," Arthur let out a small sigh. "There are just some things you don't need to know yet. We are going to tell you and Matthew soon."

"Whatever," Alfred muttered.

"We are going to start moving to look for Matthew now," Arthur stated, apparently deciding that the topic was not important. Then again, relative to the other topic, it very well could be. "If you would like to come with us, you can."

"Duh, I'm coming," Alfred sat upright, lightly tossing Kumajirou to the side and swiftly standing up. He'd been ready to go since they got back to the house. He'd changed into comfortable clothes, jeans, T-shirt, bomber jacket, and sneakers, and he'd been rearing to go after that bastard that had dared to even touch his brother. "He is the only person who's never kept a secret from me, after all," he decided to add as he walked past Arthur and towards the front door of their massive house. Arthur let out a sigh as he passed, but said nothing and simply followed him as well. He and Francis had changed into comfortable clothes as well and were also very ready to go. Francis and Elizaveta waited in front of the door for them.

"Have you two made up yet?" Francis asked Arthur with a smirk as Alfred pushed the door open, not bothering to look back at the others.

"Francis, just…don't," Arthur muttered irritably.

"It's really not good to be starting out with family issues," Elizaveta shook her head. Alfred suddenly got an idea and swiftly grabbed onto Elizaveta's wrist and started running.

"Alfred?!" Arthur snapped, but Alfred easily ignored him. After all, he'd been ignoring Arthur for most of his life anyway.

"What are you doing?" Elizaveta asked curiously and Alfred stopped them, just a ways away from the entrance of the house, but still on the property.

"That secret," Alfred looked her in the eyes and Elizaveta softened slightly.

"I can't tell you something like-"

"I don't care," Alfred shook his head, cutting the woman off. She raised an eyebrow at the action, but stayed silent, obviously curious. "How big was it? If my dad's keeping this from me, it's gotta be something big, right?"

"It's something serious I really shouldn't tell you about," Elizaveta sighed, easily freeing her wrist from Alfred's grasp. "Arthur and Francis do have a very good reason for keeping this from you, don't worry. I just have to know because it can help with this. Just don't ask that many questions."

"Is it really bad?" Alfred asked. "It must be something bad if they're keeping it this secret."

"Don't worry about it," Elizaveta smiled warmly, though it was barely seen in the darkness around them. Alfred just noticed how freaking cold it was outside and shivered slightly. He could see his breath, what kind of weather was that?! It should always be at least 70 degrees outside at all times. (Yes, he used Fahrenheit, but that was mainly just to piss of Arthur.) "Right now, we need to focus on getting your brother back, right?"

"Yeah," Alfred shivered.

"You should not run away like that," Francis panted, jogging up to them. Alfred could see his breath, too. This was so not cool. Francis gave Elizaveta a worried glance, but she just smiled in return.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything," Elizaveta sighed, walking past the Frenchman and started towards where Arthur was standing a few feet away. Most likely avoiding Alfred since he was still mad at him. Alfred stuck his hands into his pockets in an effort to keep them warm and walked towards Arthur with Francis.

"You did call Scott, yes?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "He said he'd keep a look out and tell the other two."

"Good," Arthur nodded. "We could use all the help we can get."

* * *

**FACE family is so adorable, I love it! It's my first time really writing it and I'm in love with the way it's working out so far! Plus I have the majority of this story completely planned out, so I knew they get even cuter! And Elizaveta wasn't very major here, but that's fine. She's just there to hunt down Gilbert after all. Also, Matthew can pick a lock, how interesting. Yet, he doesn't want to run away. (Don't worry, I don't intend on this becoming really Stockholm Syndromey. The way the story is going, the situation with Matthew changes a bit.**

**Also, sorry I didn't update in a few days, school totally kicked my ass this week. I wasn't home before 8PM until today, and then I had to do homework. And I go to bed at 9 every night because I'm a beautiful morning person. I'll have more time this weekend and whether I will be allowed to write at that time has yet to be decided.**

**Anywho, enough of me talking, you guys probably get sick of me eventually! Please review! I will love you forever and ever and ever!**


	5. Run

"Good morning, sunshine."

Matthew jumped at the sound of a voice and was surprised when his eyes opened to the morning. He had figured he wouldn't fall asleep, especially during the circumstances. He must have just been through too much excitement and he must have crashed from just sitting around and waiting for morning to come. Gilbert saw his distress and burst out laughing, holding onto his stomach.

"Not funny," Matthew muttered and attempted to cross his arms over his chest, but was stopped by the handcuffs that still connected them.

"Mein Gott, you didn't even stutter!" Gilbert started laughing even harder and Matthew rolled his eyes. The more he was around this criminal, the more he realized that he was just an overgrown child. And now he was just messing with Matthew, while people were most likely searching for them everywhere. Matthew's own family was probably on the lookout as well. There was no doubt that Alfred was pissed off and Arthur would probably be equally as mad. Francis could be possibly on the verge of some kind of panic attack…like what Matthew should be in.

Matthew still didn't understand why he was staying around, even though he could get away at any time. As long as he was in control of it, knowing exactly where that pin was he wouldn't be too stressed out. But…how far was he willing to let this go? Would he leave the country just to go on some adventure? Would he really leave his family?

Gilbert pulled out Matthew's phone, hardly waiting for it to turn on before he started typing something.

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked, trying to look at what Gilbert was typing, but the man just kept it easily out of his sight.

"Texting your bruder," Gilbert said with a simple smirk. He sent the message and swiftly turned off the phone. Matthew remembered that Gilbert had said he would text Alfred when he decided what he wanted for him as ransom. Matthew didn't like the idea of him having to be paid for to get back. They were rich enough to pay for something like that, but if he could get away at any time he wanted, then what was the purpose of paying ransom? If only there was some way he could contact his family and tell them not to worry. Then again, if he did that, they'd just be worried anyway.

"How much are you asking for me?" Matthew asked. A part of him was scared to know, but he was curious. He'd never considered himself worth much, but in the perspective of a criminal, he could be worth quite a lot.

"That's a surprise, Birdie," Gilbert winked, storing the phone in his pocket. He looked Matthew over, bringing him a small sense of uneasiness. "I really wish you could've been in better clothes before the whole handcuffing thing. Guess it can't really be helped and it's possible I could take off the jacket if I rip it and we can change the pants…"

"I-I am not changing around you!" Matthew felt a blush rise to his cheeks at the mere thought of it all. There was no way he would change around Alfred or even his own parents, and that meant him changing around a stranger like Gilbert was never going to happen, no matter what this criminal tried. Gilbert stared at him for a short while before bursting out laughing, holding onto his stomach once again. He practically fell over, he was laughing so hard. Matthew sent him a glare, which apparently only made Gilbert laugh harder.

"We'll see about that," Gilbert smirked and stared at Matthew once again. "What the hell is with that weird curl thing?" He reached forward, most likely to touch the curl that always stubbornly stuck out of Matthew's hair, but Matthew swiftly leaned back, out of his reach.

"Don't just…touch it!" Matthew said quickly, leaning back as far as the handcuffs would allow him to.

"Why not?" Gilbert smirked and leaned forward a little more, leading to Matthew leaning back even more. They continued until Matthew suddenly lost all support holding him up and he fell onto his back. Gilbert, however, continued to lean forward until he had to put both hands on either side of Matthew to support himself. Matthew became quickly distracted by the compromising position, his glasses skewed slightly from falling backwards, as Gilbert smirked triumphantly (obviously oblivious) and reached forward to pull that stubborn little curl.

"Oi! I just saw some white hair!" they both froze at the sound of a very familiar voice below them. Gilbert grew a slightly confused look before letting out a groan and swiftly sitting upright. He glanced over the side of the building quickly to try to see who had yelled up at them. Meanwhile, Matthew stayed still, beginning to feel panicked.

"Uncle Scott?" Matthew muttered. That was definitely the voice. He'd only met Arthur's brothers once and they all had a distinct sound. That loud, Scottish accent was definitely Scott. This game just turned entirely different.

"Uncle Scott?" Gilbert glanced at him before a sudden look of realization hit him. "Shit, that's Kirkland's big brother, isn't it?"

"O-oui," Matthew nodded, slowly sitting up.

"Where? I don't see it!" another uncle, Ian asked.

"Fuckin' top of the roof," Scott scoffed. It was amazing how well his uncles' voices travelled, even over five stories. "No wonder they haven't been found yet."

"Fuck…" Gilbert muttered and swiftly stood up. "We're moving. Now. I'm freaking carrying you if I have to."

Matthew's mind was racing as he stood up as well. He could have an excuse to be saved. Easily. Arthur and his brothers may not be on the best of terms, but they still cared about Matthew and Alfred. On top of that, they were pretty strong, especially together. Gilbert may be fast, but Matthew wasn't quite sure how strong he really was.

On the other hand, a small part of Matthew didn't want to be saved…at least not just yet. And so, Matthew started running with Gilbert. They had to jump across gaps between the buildings and Matthew's uncles were shouting as they followed them, but Matthew kept going. Gilbert seemed to be having fun, though there was something about the way he moved that showed he was nervous. Of course, he didn't want to get caught, and Matthew was probably only slowing him down.

* * *

Alfred was exhausted. He'd stayed up the entire night, searching the city with no rest. He'd run past multiple alleyways, gone into the worst parts of town, and gone through so many close calls in finding Matthew, that he'd basically lost hope. He would kill for some coffee, but there was really no time to stop. That criminal could leave the country at any time. Elizaveta had set up people at any port and airport nearby and, luckily, had several troops scouting around with them.

"Empty," Alfred dropped his arms as he looked into yet another alleyway. "Again."

"We have to keep looking," Arthur sighed, continuing past Alfred. It was obvious that they were all losing energy. Elizaveta had gone off to cover some other part of town, leaving Alfred with his parents to drag themselves well into the morning. Alfred rubbed at his eyes, letting out a yawn.

"Have you gotten anything from Gilbert?" Francis asked as they followed Arthur, all of them moving slowly, running on fumes.

"I doubt it, but I'll check," Alfred muttered and pulled out his phone from his pocket. Surprisingly, he'd gotten a text and Alfred stopped dead in his tracks. Francis saw and stopped as well, but he had to call to Arthur to make him stop. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. Alfred opened the text, a small feeling of dread inside. It was from Matthew's phone. The second he read what it said, his grip on the thing tightened and he could easily forget his fatigue.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alfred grumbled, feeling anger quickly coursing through him..

"Watch your language," Arthur sighed and walked up to him. "What did it say?"

"See for yourself," Alfred threw the phone at Arthur, who could barely catch it due to his lack of sleep. Arthur simply looked down, though his eyes quickly widened and one hand went to cover his mouth. Alfred was practically shaking with anger. That bastard dared to kidnap his own brother and ask for that much money in return? Alfred would not stand for that.

"One…million…euros?" Arthur muttered through his hand and Francis froze.

"Mon dieu," Francis shook his head.

"We have to show this to Elizaveta," Arthur stated, looking back up at them. "Now."

"No shit," Alfred snapped, snatching his phone back from Arthur just in time for it to begin buzzing and for a ringtone to set off. It was a generic ringtone and Alfred looked down curiously at it. "Uncle Scott?"

"Answer it!" Arthur demanded. "He may have found something!"

"Really?" Alfred snapped sarcastically before answering the phone. "Yeah?"

"We found 'em," Scott stated through heavy pants. It was obvious that he was running, which meant Gilbert and Matthew were, too. "They were on top of some buildings near my apartment."

"Right," Alfred nodded, trying to remember where his apartment was. "Where are they heading? You're running."

"Right to the airport," Scott stated and Alfred felt a small smile come onto his face. At this rate, they could catch them.

"We'll meet you there," Alfred stated and hung up. "They're going towards the airport next to Scott's apartment."

"Right, then let's start moving," Arthur nodded and the three began running, any feeling of fatigue completely gone. Alfred turned back to his phone and pulled up Elizaveta's number that she'd put in just a few hours ago. It didn't even have to ring twice before she answered the call.

"_Did you find anything?_" Elizaveta asked quickly.

"They're going towards the airport," Alfred reported. He gave her the street names nearby and she hung up shortly after, already yelling the directions to the others around her.

"No wonder we couldn't find them," Francis panted. "They were on the roofs."

"It's a good thing we're already pretty close to the airport," Alfred stated.

"20 miles is not close, Alfred," Arthur muttered and they all skidded to a stop in front of their car that they had stopped just a small ways away. They filed in not even bothering with seatbelts as Arthur began driving as quickly as possible.

Alfred knew that they were close and he couldn't wait to land a punch on that bastard, Gilbert's, face.

* * *

**Oh, Alfred, you're so overdramatic. And it's the other UK brothers! Granted, we still haven't seen them for real, but they're official characters now! Not for long, really, but they're helpful if they need to be.**

**Please review! I will love you forever!**

**Oh, and check out this story I posted for Halloween that needs more love, it's called Makings Of A Monster. It's all about Russia and I really like it, but tell me how you feel about it!**


	6. Lost 'Em

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_

Gilbert's mind was racing as he ran as quickly as he could, Matthew following him closely as they ran across the buildings. Gilbert took as many sharp turns as he possibly could without endangering his little Birdie, but he couldn't lose those three. Gilbert had hoped to make it to the airport, but now he would have to swerve and possibly make it somewhere else.

"How much do you trust me, Birdie?" Gilbert panted, knowing full well that, if he ran for much longer, he would get really tired and that wasn't good.

"Um…" Matthew panted as well, slightly heavier than Gilbert.

"Simple question, answer it quickly," Gilbert stated.

"I-I guess I know you'll keep me safe…" Matthew muttered underneath his labored breaths.

"Awesome," Gilbert smirked and stopped them right at the edge of a building. He looked down, it was only one story down, and found a dumpster, filled to the brim with trash waiting to be taken away. "Jump."

"What?" Matthew squeaked.

"Jump. Now." Gilbert commanded, already hearing those three chasing after them talking. There were police sirens as well. Matthew gave him a short, scared look before he jumped. Gilbert followed suit quickly and they landed harshly on the trash below them. Gilbert felt some kind of bottle hit against him back, but he could easily ignore the pain for now. "Alright, let's keep it moving." Gilbert swiftly squirmed his way out of the trash and Matthew slowly did the same. It took a little longer than Gilbert liked and so he pulled slightly on the handcuffs, leading to Matthew stumbling out of the dumpster. Gilbert nodded, seeing Matthew was fine and on his feet and they started running again. Gilbert flipped up his hood, though he knew it wouldn't do much to hide them.

He turned a corner and could hear more shouting from those three, but he ignored what they were saying. Matthew was starting to slow down and Gilbert knew he was getting close to slowing down as well and turned a sharp corner, quickly spotting a few stores and restaurants. It wasn't the best part of town, bars were covering the windows that weren't broken, but it would do just fine. Gilbert saw the name of one store and smirked, quickly darting inside. A bell rang above them, but Gilbert paid it no mind.

He pulled out a bill he kept in his pocket just in case of emergencies like this and slammed it onto the counter. The cashier gave them a questioning look before his eyes widened in recognition.

"50 pounds says we're not here," Gilbert stated and the man nodded slowly. Gilbert glanced him up and down. The good part about this being a bad part of town was that people would do basically anything for money. He looked like the kind of person that might have even been a criminal before or something and so Gilbert knew he was probably good to his word. Luckily, every time Gilbert got into a new country, he would pick some random pocket and get some of the currency they used if he ever needed money.

Gilbert then ran for a small door on the other side of the shop, a dressing room, and swiftly yanked the door open before pushing Matthew inside and following closely, shutting the door. Just afterwards, Gilbert heard the tinkling of a bell that signaled the door was opened and let out a quiet, relieved sigh through his panting.

"Ain't seen 'em," the guy at the counter stated and the three men let out a sigh.

"Maybe it was some other store," one of them muttered. The bell clinked, signaling that the door had once again opened and closed. They left.

"So, that's your family?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow and talked in a quiet voice to Matthew.

"Um, sort of," Matthew muttered. "My dad doesn't get along with his brothers very well, but they seem to like Alfred and I."

"I didn't expect this many people to be looking for you," Gilbert groaned. "I figured your family would be like all the others; leave it to the police. Elizaveta's enough of a handful on her own…"

"Where did you get that money?" Matthew asked.

"I pickpocketed some business guy when I first got to London," Gilbert shrugged. "It comes in handy in emergencies."

"One more question," Matthew muttered. "Why are we in a costume shop?"

"Disguises, my dear Birdie," Gilbert winked. "The only problem is these freaking handcuffs. I mean, getting you out of clothes is easy enough, but getting you into them is a lot harder like this."

"Do you know how creepy that sounds?" Matthew asked and Gilbert couldn't stop himself before he burst out laughing.

"Mein Gott, Birdie," Gilbert had to hold onto his stomach, he was laughing so much. "I'm not gonna rape you or anything. I've just gotta get you outta that monkey suit. I don't know how you were comfortable enough to sleep in that!"

"I-It's not like I had much of a choice," Matthew looked down at his shoes and Gilbert let out a sigh. For once, he got Matthew to actually get a spine and say something like he did and now he's back to stuttering and whispering. Whatever, Gilbert was awesome, he could get this kid out of his shell by the time they were done with this whole kidnapping thing.

"Alright, so we've gotta figure out how to get you a nice disguise in that," Gilbert muttered, thinking through his plan for how to get out of the country before he got caught. "Then when we're actually at the airport, we're gonna have to sneak in because these handcuffs are a dead giveaway…"

Matthew let out a sudden sigh and pulled out a pin from his pocket. He set it into the keyhole for the handcuffs and, seconds later, it fell from his wrist.

"Does this make things easier?" Matthew asked.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Gilbert's jaw dropped.

"My papa taught me," Matthew sighed.

"Of course he did," Gilbert muttered and held out his wrist. "Now do me. I hate having these things on."

Matthew simply looked at him, apparently having some sort of inner war with himself. Gilbert let out a sigh. This kid knew that he could pick that lock and could have run away for who knows how long. He could have stopped them several times and possibly gotten them caught. But he didn't, he stuck around. He wanted to do something and, as curious as Gilbert was about it, he needed to get things going quickly.

"Look," Gilbert held onto both of Matthew's shoulders. "You wanna stay, I can tell. I'm not gonna ask why just as long as you can help me out. If it's something along the lines of adventure or whatever, then I'm gonna give you a promise of the best fucking adventure you will ever have. You're just gonna have to work with me. And here's a deal, the second you get bored, you can leave."

"The second I get bored?" Matthew asked.

"I know you won't ever be bored around the awesome me, so I'm fine making this deal," Gilbert smirked, still holding out his wrist with the handcuffs expectantly. "If you ever get bored, you can feel free to leave and I'll let you go back. You wanna go on an adventure, right?"

"I-I don't know…" Matthew shook his head, backing up into the wall behind him.

"I do," Gilbert stated. "If you wanted to, right now, you could connect the other end of these handcuffs to this door and then I'd be fucked. You could leave right now and go run into your uncles' arms. But you're not. You want to be here and, like I said, I won't push it. But if it's because you want an adventure, we're gonna have to make that deal. You do anything I ask and I promise you won't be bored."

"I'm really going to hate myself in the future for this," Matthew muttered and swiftly picked the lock on Gilbert's side of the handcuffs.

"Nah, you won't, trust me," Gilbert ruffled Matthew's hair. "Now, let's get ourselves dressed up for our trip, shall we?"

* * *

"Dammit!" Arthur hit the wheel of the car as they stopped.

"How the hell could they lose him?" Alfred groaned, falling backwards, into the seat. "He's got freaking white hair! And Mattie's in a suit! They're so obvious right now!"

"They will leave the country soon if we do not catch them," Francis muttered.

Alfred's phone began to ring and he swiftly picked it up, not bothering to see who it was.

"Yo," Alfred sighed.

"_You lost him, didn't you_?" Elizaveta sighed on the other line.

"We didn't even have him in the first place!" Alfred griped. "It was my uncles! But they lost them!"

"_Where?_"

Alfred gave her the streets and Elizaveta let out a small sigh.

"_He knows how to fit in in those kinds of places,_" Elizaveta muttered and Alfred got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. So even the best at going after this guy knew they wouldn't have much hope? "_It'll be better if he move all of our forces to places where they can leave the country._"

"Should we just keep looking around?" Alfred asked.

"_Stay in that part of town in case you see them again_," Elizaveta stated and she hung up.

"Let's just look around," Alfred stated, storing his phone. "I'm sure we'll get something."

"I would have never expected Scott to lose them," Arthur muttered bitterly and began driving once again. This part of town was fairly run down, definitely not something Alfred was used to seeing. There were a couple people scattered around the streets and Alfred studied them all closely. None of these could possibly be those two.

"It is possible that they are in disguise already," Francis stated suddenly.

"Well, obviously Beilschmidt might be," Alfred stated, looking out the window. "But there's no way he'd get Mattie into any kind of costume and act like a part of the crowd. He'd be out desperately looking for us at all costs."

"You never know with Beilschmidt," Arthur stated darkly.

"Yeah, well I know my brother," Alfred stated. "There's no way he'd go along with anything that criminal says or does." Then, Alfred suddenly realized something. "What if he knocked Mattie out?"

"That is a possibility," Arthur stated, glancing swiftly at Francis, who tried to discreetly shrug. "Beilschmidt seems to have a certain…style with it comes to these kinds of things. He is not one to do things the regular way. Most likely, Matthew is just fine and awake."

"Does the fact that you know so much about him have something to do with that secret?" Alfred narrowed his eyes at them.

"Alfred," Arthur let out a sigh and rubbed at his forehead. "Can we not talk about this now?"

"Sure, we can not talk about it," Alfred shrugged. "But I'll still be pissed off about it."

"Mon fils," Francis sighed, looking back at Alfred. "This has been a long night for all of us, so be kinder on us, s'il vous plait?"

"Whatever," Alfred muttered and glared out of the window at the people passing by.

They passed a pair of two boys. One of them had shaggy black hair and had glasses perched on his nose. He was wearing clothing that screamed nerd so loudly, it was almost cliché. What the hell was he doing in that part of town? He could get mugged… The other one had a beanie covering the majority of his hair and had dark brown eyes and even he looked really frail.

The two were waiting at a streetlight, waiting for the light to turn so that they could walk across safely. They stared at the car as it passed and Alfred let out a sigh, returning for his search for that damn criminal that dared to steal his brother from him. He was so going to be dead.

What Alfred didn't see, however, was the kid with black hair high five the kid with the beanie. And the small bit of white hair standing out amongst the rest of the black.

* * *

**Those two boys? Yeah, that's Gil and Mattie in disguise. No doubt Gilbert's "awesome" idea. Anywho, Matthew's situation has now dramatically changed. Quite a lot of people have asked if this is going to turn into Stockholm Syndrome or something and I can easily respond with the fact that Matthew really isn't kidnapped anymore, if you get what I mean.**

**Anywho, please review, y'all! It's totally lovely!**


	7. Barely

"Are you sure about this?" Matthew asked Gilbert.

"Of course I'm sure," Gilbert shrugged and continued walking. It was so weird to see Gilbert with black hair, though Matthew couldn't see much in the first place because Gilbert stole his glasses and he was wearing colored contacts. The man at the costume shop gave them free stuff for all the money they gave him and Matthew definitely recognized that car that had passed them by so the costumes must have been good. At least, good enough to trick his family. Matthew wasn't sure about it at first, but when he glanced at himself in some of the windows they passed by, he could barely even recognize himself. And he didn't even have that much on. Gilbert was just really good with disguises.

"But it's really crowded in there," Matthew muttered, walking slightly behind the man. He looked just like any nerd around and he was obviously trying to walk with less confidence than he held, but he was failing constantly.

"And our costumes are awesome," Gilbert shrugged. "It's fine, Birdie. We'll get out of here just fine."

"And what if security is really tough because of you?" Matthew sighed. He could already see the airport coming up…and several policemen standing outside. Cars bustled about constantly and Gilbert's dyed hair whipped around a lot.

"Well, obviously it is," Gilbert laughed. "But I'm not worried. Because I'm awesome. We'll be just fine."

"Whatever you say…" Matthew muttered, sticking his hands into his pockets as they walked. It was kind of cold, but he was too nervous to try to do much moving. They calmly walked by the policemen, who simply eyed them suspiciously before allowing them to pass. They walked into the airport, which was bustling with people. It had taken them quite a while to get there and Matthew was getting fairly tired. Gilbert, though, was apparently used to walking everywhere he went.

"Now comes the tricky part," Gilbert stated, turning towards where a few ATMs were scattered around. He stopped just a few feet away from one of them. "We're gonna have to get into a bank account."

"Are you serious?" Matthew gaped at him. "We can't do mine, obviously since they'll know and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have one and that means we'll have to…"

"Use someone else's," Gilbert shrugged and easily leaned against the wall next to the ATM.

"Are you crazy?" Matthew snapped at him.

"I believe the term is awesome," Gilbert chimed and pulled out Matthew's phone.

"What are you doing now?" Matthew sighed.

"I'm doing shit," Gilbert shrugged. "You're supposed to be kidnapped, right? So that means I'm doing my job as the kidnapper to keep your family in the loop." He stared typing something down and Matthew was tempted to look, though a part of him knew he didn't want to look.

"You do realize how dangerous it is to try to contact them this much, right?" Matthew sighed. He knew Gilbert didn't want to get caught, yet he was using that phone a lot.

"They have no idea when I'm on it," Gilbert shrugged. "And I'm not calling. Besides, it's not like I'll contact them much when we're out of the country."

"If we're leaving the country, aren't we supposed to have passports?" Matthew let out a sigh.

"You take the long way through everything, don't you Birdie?" Gilbert sighed, powering off the phone. "I know my way around airports, I've been through them a lot without getting caught. I know exactly what I'm doing." Someone walked up to the ATM and swiped their card, entering a key. Gilbert discreetly looked over, but Matthew didn't catch what the code was, so he doubted Gilbert did. The man was there for a few minutes before the money came out and he began to walk towards the two. Gilbert pulled out Matthew's phone again, but didn't turn it on. He looked as if he was texting as he ran right into the man, who still had the card and money fumbling in his hands. The two hit each other pretty hard and they both jumped, dropping what they were holding.

"Ah, jeez, I-I'm so sorry!" Gilbert rushed out, surprising Matthew with his acting. He immediately knelt down and swiftly picked up the card with the phone without the man seeing. "I-I really have to…get going…" Gilbert muttered hurriedly and quickly started walking away while the man scooped up the pile of euros on the ground, not bothering to check for his card as well.

Matthew nearly laughed at the whole scene. He had no idea Gilbert was _that _good at all of this. After a few minutes of Matthew standing awkwardly by himself, Gilbert happily made his way back, holding up the card.

"Alright, I'll give that to you," Matthew nodded and followed Gilbert to the ATM next to the one the man had just used. "But what about the code? I'm sure you didn't catch it?"

"Of course I caught it," Gilbert shrugged, swiping the card and punching in a code. They gained access immediately and Matthew's mouth hung open in surprise.

"How did you catch that?" Matthew asked in awe. Gilbert was really impressive.

"I'm just that awesome," Gilbert shrugged and quite a few euro bills came out. He swiped them into his hand and simply dropped the card onto the ground without a second thought before turning around. "For when he comes back to look for that card, I'm not stupid."

"You think of everything, don't you?" Matthew asked as Gilbert smirked triumphantly.

"Now we just find a kid with a passport willing to do shit for money," Gilbert muttered, looking around the room and the multiple people bustling with their suitcases. "Got one."

* * *

"They're probably already at the freaking airport!" Alfred snapped.

"I have men there right now!" Elizaveta snapped right back. "There's no way they'd let an albino slip by!"

"What if he's in disguise?" Alfred asked.

"Then we're screwed, okay?" Elizaveta let out an irritated sigh, holding onto the bridge of her nose. They had gone back to the house, which Alfred definitely wasn't pleased about. They were now in the dining room, Arthur and Francis standing back as Alfred practically exploded. Someone had kidnapped his brother, for crying out loud, and they were just lounging about now!

"They can't leave the country," Alfred tugged at his hair and fell down into a chair behind him.

"Matthieu does not have his passport with him," Francis shrugged. "And I am sure the criminal does not have one either. There should be no way for them to get out of the country."

"Beilschmidt's gotten out of a lot of countries," Elizaveta stated. "He knows a way, the only problem would be getting Matthew to comply with him."

"That hasn't stopped him yet, has it?" Arthur muttered.

"He's never really left with a hostage before," Elizaveta muttered. "The furthest he got was the airport before someone gave him the money he wanted and he just ditched the person there before disappearing without a trace."

"Should we just give him the money and have this all be over with?" Arthur gave a defeated sigh.

"But that's like losing!" Alfred snapped. "That's not a heroic thing to do, just let the villain get away!"

"We will catch him eventually," Elizaveta sighed. "If you really want your brother back, that is your best option."

"How will we contact him before he gets away?" Francis asked.

"He'll probably contact you," Elizaveta shrugged and Alfred felt his phone vibratE as a ring tone sounded off. "Like that."

Alfred immediately pulled out his phone and opened up the text message that had been sent from Matthew's phone. He read through it the first time and his blood ran cold. He read through it again and again, hoping for something to change, for this situation to not seem as bad as he had hoped. When that didn't work, Alfred threw his phone at the wall across the room.

"That little fucker!" Alfred snapped as his phone clattered to the ground.

"Alfred," Arthur sighed, though his face looked very worried.

"What did it say?" Elizaveta demanded and rushed over to the phone. There was a cracked screen (a very cracked screen), but it still turned on. Once Elizaveta had read the text, she dropped the phone, her eyes wide. "This is just a game now."

"How much was it?" Arthur stood from his seat and stared at the two expectantly.

"A trillion," Alfred muttered, his voice going nearly as quiet as Matthew's. Francis looked like he was in the middle of a heart-attack while Arthur simply froze.

"No," Arthur shook his head.

"Why would he…?" Francis muttered, seeming not to know what to do with his hands, moving them from his heart to his head, to his stomach, to his hair.

"He wants to play a game," Elizaveta sighed, both of her hands on the table as she stared down at it, apparently afraid to look at the unhappy family. "That's his way of saying, you're not getting Matthew back until he's done. Or he's caught."

"Has he done this before?" Alfred snapped.

"With a belonging, not a person, to get us to chase him," Elizaveta shook her head. "He thinks it's a challenge. And he's gotten away every single time."

"We are going after him," Arthur stated. "I don't care where he goes, but we will catch him."

"Let's get to the airport now," Elizaveta nodded. "If we can't catch him before he leaves, we'll at least be able to follow him."

"Way ahead of you," Alfred was already halfway to the door of the dining room.

"Why didn't you warn me this would happen?" Arthur asked Francis in a hushed whisper that he most likely assumed Alfred couldn't hear.

"He has apparently changed," Francis whispered and Alfred pushed open the door angrily.

So Francis knew Gilbert? How long ago? Why?

Alfred shook his head. He couldn't block his mind thinking about something like that. He had to focus on getting Matthew back from that asshole.

* * *

**Hehehe, a small bit of the secret is out. So Francis knew Gilbert…interesting turn of events. And Gilbert was totally acting like Matthew up there, if you didn't catch that. The whole getting into another country part was a bit sketchy for me in the first place, but now I've sort of ironed it out. I'm sure with Gilbert's it's possible, so I'm not worried at all. And now there's a big turn of events that Matthew knows nothing about. I'm totally loving this story right now, guys! You have no idea!**

**Please review!**


	8. Turbulence

It wasn't long before Matthew and Gilbert were in line to get into that plane. It was amazing all that Gilbert could accomplish. Gilbert looked fairly relaxed, stretching slightly as they moved forward slowly in the line, though Matthew could definitely see that he was getting skittish. His fingers were twitching and he constantly looked down the massive hall of the airport, as if expecting someone to come for them. They still didn't look much like themselves in the first place, so Matthew wasn't sure why he was so worried.

"What are you so worried about?" Matthew asked suddenly, blurting out the question before he could stop himself. Gilbert glanced at him and started laughing.

"You can always tell when I'm freaking out, Birdie," Gilbert laughed. "It's kind a weird."

"I guess I'm just good at reading people," Matthew shrugged and they slowly moved up the line once again. "You didn't answer my question."

"I hate sitting still for a long time," Gilbert shrugged. "I'm used to always being on the move, you know? Sitting still for a couple hours in a plane is definitely not something I would do unless I had to. We're definitely using fucking trains or something once we're off this stupid island."

"Why did you even come to England in the first place if you hate planes?" Matthew asked. Surely, it wasn't for him, since it just seemed like a coincidence that the two of them crossed paths. Then again, Gilbert could apparently lie and act fairly easily.

"I was visiting an old friend," Gilbert shrugged. "More like seeing, since I can't really talk to anyone without the cops being called."

Matthew simply nodded and went ahead of Gilbert to the woman that was checking the tickets. She scanned it and the computer beeped next to her and she gave Matthew a warm smile before ushering him towards the plane. Gilbert followed soon after, keeping up his quiet and awkward façade easily. It occurred to Matthew after a while that Gilbert was mocking him with it, but he simply chose not to say anything about it. He was sure that dye would come out eventually and Gilbert would have to pick a new disguise. Matthew had to wonder why someone with features like him wouldn't have more disguises at the ready. It seemed like Gilbert kept his natural look quite a lot. Was that for a reason?

"So, you ever been to Spain before?" Gilbert smirked as they both walked through the small tunnel that lead to the plane.

"I've only ever been to England, France, and America," Matthew shrugged.

"Well, have you ever wanted to go to Spain?" Gilbert asked, lacing his hands behind his head as he walked.

"I've never thought about it," Matthew muttered.

"You gotta learn to broaden your horizons, Birdie," Gilbert groaned. "Spain is pretty damn awesome. So are a lot of other places, but I'm sure we'll visit them, too. I've been all over Europe."

"Why Spain?" Matthew asked. They could choose any country, though that was narrowed slightly since Gilbert was obviously spending the minimum time possible in a plane. Still, there were plenty of other countries, but Gilbert seemed dead-set on Spain.

"Visiting another friend," Gilbert shrugged. "This one, I can actually talk to without the police getting involved." They came up to the door of the plane, the flight attendants greeting them as they walked into the small aircraft, obviously built for speed, but also with a lot of comfort. Gilbert lead the way to their seats. "Plus, I told you that you wouldn't be bored, right? Spain's an awesome place to start, especially since I have an awesome plan to tour Europe."

"Your plan is to tour Europe?" Matthew asked.

"Of course," Gilbert shrugged and ducked into a pair of seats on the left side of the plane. The right side only had rows of one seat and those were all mostly occupied. People were busying themselves with shoving their carry-ons overhead while some were trying to get friendly with the strangers they were sitting next to. A woman came on carrying a sleeping baby. "What else would be awesome enough for kidnapping you?"

"Whatever," Matthew rolled his eyes and tried to get comfortable in the seat he was in, though that proved to be futile. "So, who's this friend we're meeting?"

"His name's Toni," Gilbert shrugged. "Pretty awesome guy, though I haven't seen him in years."

"How do you know where he lives if you haven't seen him in years?" Matthew asked.

"He always said he'd live in the city with some sort of café," Gilbert shrugged. "Then you add in the internet and look for any Antonio Carriedos and café's. And then I found one that had a shit ton of stuff on tomatoes and I figured I found the right guy. He was always obsessed with tomatoes."

"So his dream was to own a café?" Matthew asked. It was a fair dream, but most people dreamed big, saying they wanted to own an entire business or cure cancer. Then again, the only people he had had the pleasure of knowing were big-business people. Then again, the kids in the orphanage all wanted to be the President of America, or an astronaut…

"From where I knew him," Gilbert shrugged, "we all dreamed of doing something simple. Me? My dream wasn't even to have a job. Just to go home."

The look on Gilbert's face as he glanced out the window told Matthew not to ask any further questions. He was very curious as to what this "where" Gilbert knew this guy from was, though he knew it would be stupid to pry. Eventually, Matthew found his thoughts drifting off and he found it hard to even keep his eyes open. The plane was just starting to take off, yet he was about to fall asleep. He must have been more tired than he thought after all that running and walking.

…

Matthew woke up a little while later to something bumping into his side. He glanced over at Gilbert, the culprit, and found that the man was asleep. Though he was stirring quite a lot, his face contorting slightly. His hand was clutching his left leg, just above his knee and the man looked quite obviously distressed. Matthew wanted to wake him up, though he knew better than to try that with someone like him. He was the kind of person always on edge and ready to run at any moment, so if Matthew tried to even nudge him awake, Gilbert would quite possibly freak out and that wouldn't be good at all in the middle of a plane ride.

He just had to wait it out and watch as Gilbert went through his nightmare.

* * *

_Gilbert was running. All he could see was the darkness and the cracks in the sidewalk. All he could hear was his gasps for breath, as well as his brother's. He was scared, but he had no idea why. He pushed his brother away and slammed hard into the ground. He was screaming, but couldn't understand what he was saying._

_There was something holding him down, but he was able to break free for a little bit before he was yanked back by his hair. He could see purple eyes and he started panting again. Then he was screaming. His leg burned._

"_You're awesome, just breathe through it."_

_BANG! A gunshot made him jump, nearly topple over. He was running again and the sound of a laugh surrounded him. It was all so dark, he couldn't see anything._

_A little boy was crying._

_Gilbert kept running._

"_You're awesome, you can handle it."_

"_You're awesome, you can do it."_

"_You're awesome, just run."_

"_You're awesome, you'll get out of here."_

"_You're awesome."_

"_You're awesome."_

…

"_I'm awesome. I can handle this."_

* * *

Gilbert startled awake, breathing in air quickly. His leg ached, right where that damn scar was and his vision was blurry, though he quickly figured out that it was because he was wearing Matthew's glasses. He looked over at said Canadian and found the boy looking at him with concern.

"Don't worry about it," Gilbert said quickly and didn't even bother to notice if they were in turbulence before he unbuckled himself from the seat and quickly made his way to the nearest bathroom. Luckily, it was unoccupied and he swiftly opened the door before getting in and slamming it closed.

Once inside, he allowed his deep breaths to become louder and he held onto the stupid, flimsy airplane sink. Why the hell did he have to have that stupid dream now? Gilbert winced at the pain in his leg and held onto his roughly with one hand. He didn't know why it hurt, it had healed years ago.

"Dammit," Gilbert muttered, shaking his head. He hated being in this stupid, small box. He couldn't stand the feeling of not having an escape route. Last time that happened… He shook his head furiously, getting that damn memory out of his head. He was over it and he knew it. That damn dream just made him overreact to everything. He was perfectly fine. He was awesome, he could handle this.

Gilbert felt a need to pace, feeling like an animal in some kind of cage as the plane bumped slightly. He felt like he was going to go crazy if he had to deal with this much longer. Talking to Matthew made him feel better, oddly enough, but now that he wasn't near him, he was freaking out. He remembered it was this bad when he went to see Francis and he had no idea why he was going back on a plane so soon afterwards.

Gilbert ran a hand through his hair and looked back at it, seeing it turn slightly black. The dye was wearing off, but it couldn't wear off now! He still had who knew how long before they landed and could make a break for it. God, how much Gilbert wanted to just run right now. He was so antsy, especially in the small box for a bathroom.

Once his breathing had evened out and he assured himself that the pain in his leg wasn't real, he left the bathroom and walked calmly back to his seat, where Matthew gave him a worried look.

"Is everything alright?" Matthew asked as Gilbert slumped into the seat and looked out the window, finding that the sun had just set over the horizon. He could see a faint outline of land, though he knew there was still a ways to go over land before they landed. It was a horrible thought.

"I'm fine," Gilbert muttered. The sound of that laugh in his dream…Gilbert's hands balled into fists, looking over the rim of the glasses at the land, as if willing for it to come closer at a faster rate.

"You don't look fine," Matthew stated.

"Birdie, you're gonna have to learn to not ask questions," Gilbert snapped and immediately regretted it. Matthew jumped slightly before simply nodding and looking down at his lap. He twiddled his thumbs, having nothing better to do since they didn't have any luggage. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you…"

"I understand," Matthew mumbled. "Must've been one hell of a nightmare…"

"Don't even get me started," Gilbert slumped back in the seat, rubbing at his leg. He'd gone so long without that nightmare but now it just decided to come back? How unfair was that? He never intended on digging up those memories, but his mind apparently thought otherwise.

Gilbert looked out over the ocean and let out a sigh.

God, he hoped Ludwig was okay.

* * *

**Why is it that I enjoy writing angst? I don't quite understand it, but it's easier for me to write and more fun. It's so confusing, but anyway, we have a few more things to confuse your pretty little minds. Gilbert and Francis do know each other, but how? Where did they meet? Why does Gilbert have that scar on his leg? What does Ludwig have to do with any of this? Will any of these questions be answered in the next chapter?**

**The answer to that last one is no. You're getting small hints as time goes on and I think that makes it more interesting. Also, people have been wondering where they will go, so now we know they're going to Spain! (A lot of poeple have asked about Antonio as well, well there's your answer. As for you people wondering about Lovi...well, I can't tell you yet.) A few people have asked about Ludwig as well, and now he got his own little sentence at the end there. Don't worry, he gets important later.**

**Also, my plane experience is limited to that inside of the USA, except for the one time I went to France, but I was 8 so I don't remember that much (I totally hate myself for wanting to go to Euro Disney Land more than the Louvre). If planes and the staff or whatever are actually different in England, my bad. I'm not sure it is much different, though, so I'm not too incredibly worried.**

**Anywho, enough of my rambling! Please review!**


	9. Tensions

Alfred was about to go insane. Not only was he dealing with massive lack of sleep and exhaustion from running around, but now he had to deal with…this in the middle of a freaking airport.

"Ye have ne right to talk to meh like that, Artie!" Scott snapped, putting emphasis on the last word, which just seemed to set off Alfred's father more.

"You were the one that lost him in the first place, you twat!" Arthur snapped right back, anger boiling in his eyes.

"Ye were the one that should've been watchin' him, aye?" Scott yelled.

"It's impossible to try to keep track of even Alfred in a crowd like that," Arthur rolled his eyes. "You were the ones that said you knew where they bloody were and you lost them! We couldn't even find them afterwards because they're probably in some sort of disguises now!"

"No matter how good a disguise is, Artie," Scott hissed, "ye should be able to recognize yer own son."

Arthur opened his mouth to retort before Elizaveta stepped between the two of them.

"Okay," Elizaveta said cooly. "We're just gonna step off of this topic for now. We're just a bit tired is all, right?"

"I should have never thought to get you bloody-" Arthur was in the middle of his sentence when Francis placed one hand on his shoulder and the other over his mouth with a sigh.

"Mon cher, you need to calm down," Francis let out a sigh and Arthur let out an irritated huff, slapping the man's hand away. Scott smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, as if he wanted to say something, but knew better than to get into another argument by now. The other two brothers were simply lounging on nearby chairs, looking fairly annoyed.

"Anyway," Elizaveta said cheerfully, though here smile seemed rather forced, "we need to figure out if they've left the country yet. My guess is that they probably would go by plane, but I also have people checking out any ports or other ways to get somewhere else."

"How the hell are we gonna find out if they've left?" Alfred let out an annoyed sigh. He was getting tired of playing this damn game with Beilschmidt and his mind really wasn't working well anymore. He was just about sick and tired of all of this. He wished he could just crawl into bed and sleep, but he knew his brother didn't have that luxury. He was probably scared shitless right now, with that damn criminal forcing him to do something to help him out.

"Cameras," Elizaveta shrugged. "They're everywhere, if you haven't noticed. We can get the security team to let us watch the videos from the past couple hours. For one, we should check the ATMs. Gilbert's stolen quite a bit of money when he needs it, but only when he needs it. I'm sure an ATM would be perfect for him to use."

"Then let's go," Scott chimed.

"Do you really have to come?" Arthur ran a hand through his hair.

"Dude, don't start this shit now," Alfred shook his head.

"Dude?" Arthur scoffed. "My name is Arthur. Or even 'dad' would suffice, you insufferable git."

"And he's back," Alfred sent him a smirk as he followed Elizaveta, who was already walking with a purpose somewhere else.

"Some kid," Scott laughed and Arthur let out a small groan.

Before long, they'd managed to find the security "headquarters" for the airport, at least the place that held all the monitors. One flash of Elizaveta's badge and the men simply stood back and allowed her to take control. She immediately started typing and going through times of videos as if she'd done it hundreds of times before. If she was the best person going after Beilschmidt, she probably did.

"Okay, here's a good time frame from when we lost them to now…ish," Elizaveta muttered and one of the monitors changed to show a small row of ATMs. Several other screens changed as well, all in different locations, but all holding ATMs. "I'll be playing it in fast motion, so you all should be paying close attention to catch everything." She pressed one more button and the videos started. People bustled around and quite a few used the money machines, though none of them really stood out to Alfred.

Eventually, though, he saw a familiar face. In a flash, though, it was gone.

"Wait," Alfred stated and Elizaveta paused it. "Rewind it a bit, take a look at this one," Alfred pointed at one screen and Elizaveta did as she was told. Sure enough, Alfred saw that nerd kid with black hair he saw in the place Scott and the others lost him. "Play that in regular speed."

"What is this accomplishing, Alfred?" Arthur asked.

"Just wait," Alfred stated. Elizaveta did some more typing and rewound it to before the kid and his buddy walked over. They stood there talking for a while and it all seemed fairly normal. A guy came by and used an ATM, then the nerd moved forward and very purposefully ran into the man. Paper and the card fell onto the ground and the nerd moved to help the man before they both walked away. The nerd's buddy stayed where he was. Elizaveta set in fast forward until the nerd came back, holding up something victoriously. When Alfred looked closer, he saw the card.

"Do you think that is him?" Francis asked as the two went to an ATM.

"I saw those two in the place Scott said they lost them," Alfred stated. "I'm so fucking stupid!"

"Alfred," Arthur sighed. "You're not stupid."

"I should be able to recognize my own freaking brother!" Alfred snapped. Looking closer at the nerd's buddy, Elizaveta had rewound the video and focused on the person. Though the video was grainy and black in white, he could see a few tell-tale signs of his brother.

"How the bloody hell did they manage that?" Scott asked.

"I gotta give Gilbert some props for that one," Elizaveta chuckled. "But we caught him. They definitely at least bought plane tickets." She swiftly stood up. "Now we have to see which planes left after that time."

The group filed out of the room quickly. A member of Elizaveta's team was outside the door and she gave him rushed orders before he nodded and ran off. People were still bustling around the airport as if nothing in the world was wrong. Their lives were simply unperturbed and Alfred let out a sigh. If they actually managed to leave the country, he was going to shoot somebody.

"Where do you think they could have gone?" Arthur asked.

"Beilschmidt doesn't do well in boxes," Elizaveta stated as they continued to walk through the airport. "He'd chose one of the closer countries, and definitely in the mainland of Europe, not Iceland. He didn't stay long when he was in the Nordics, so I doubt he'd go there. My guess is that it's between France and Spain. From what Francis said, he's got a friend in Spain, so that would be our best bet."

"Great, more about that stupid secret," Alfred grumbled under his breath. "Do you know Beilschmidt?"

"You should not ask questions you do not want to know the answer to," Francis sighed, seeming strangely serious. Alfred simply let out an annoyed huff before speeding up to follow Elizaveta closer. A question Alfred didn't want to know the answer to? Of course he wanted to know if Francis knew Beilschmidt! What the hell else was there in this damn secret no one wanted to tell him? It was going to drive him crazy thinking of something. They would all just be better off if they told Alfred now, rather than force him to use his imagination to put the puzzle pieces together.

Elizaveta stopped at a few monitors that told times of planes and destinations. She read them all quickly and Alfred tried to do the same, though he didn't really know what he should be looking for.

"It's Spain," Elizaveta nodded. "Considering when they got their money and when that plane going to Barcelona left, they're gone."

"You have got to be shitting me," Alfred let out a groan.

"Francis," Elizaveta glanced back at the Frenchman, who was just behind them. "You're sure that guy's in Barcelona?"

"Oui," Francis nodded. "I've been planning on visiting him for a while and I was able to look up where he lived. He said he always wanted to own a little restaurant, so when I found one with a lot of tomatoes, and owned by an Antonio, I knew it was him."

"Then we're going to Barcelona," Elizaveta nodded. "Pack up your stuff, gentleman, this will probably be a long trip."

* * *

Alfred stared into Matthew's room, holding on tightly to Kumajirou. When they finally got Matthew back, he would probably be freaking out and would definitely need Kumajirou to comfort him. Whenever he had nightmares or anything, Kumajirou never failed in calming him down. Alfred also had a small bag, holding some of Matthew's clothes. He was pretty sure that if he was on the run with a criminal, he wouldn't have much of a chance to change and his own clothes might be nice to have once they got him back.

Alfred let out a sigh. Watching that video, Matthew wasn't even trying to get away. He was almost working with that criminal. Something must be up…maybe Beilschmidt had him blackmailed, or he had a tracker on him, or he was threatening to kill Matthew if he didn't do what he wanted! Alfred's grip on the small, stuffed bear tightened. So help him, if he saw one scratch on his brother, one little hair out of place, that man was going to die.

"Alfred, are you ready?" Francis asked behind him. "It seems we are a few hours behind them and we will need to catch up when we can."

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Alfred stated and grabbed the suitcase he'd propped against Matthew's door. It was only going to be Alfred, Francis, Arthur, and Elizaveta on the private jet to Barcelona. It would be far quicker than the plane that Beilschmidt and Matthew took, so they could make up some time, and Elizaveta was already ensuring she would have plenty of units once they made it into the city. Scott and the others had decided to stay, considering the tensions that were still between them and Arthur. Luckily, they could all get some sleep on that plane ride and not be at each-others' throats anymore.

"Trés bon," Francis nodded, glancing at him. He was obviously tired as well.

"I gotta ask," Alfred sighed, slowly following Francis as the man walked down the hallway and to the front door. "Why are you keeping this secret from me?"

"It is something we will tell you and Matthieu in due time," Francis sighed, looking at the ground. "It is just something hard to dig up. Arthur only knows because he was able to do a thorough background check on me. If I didn't have to talk about it, I would not."

"And what did you mean by not asking questions I don't want to know the answer to?" Alfred asked.

"As I said, this is something that is hard to talk about," Francis sighed. "There are a few things in my past that should not be uncovered. Gilbert would understand this as well. We do know each other, but the reason is something I am sure you do not want to know about."

"Took you two long enough," Elizaveta let out a groan from the door. "We've gotta get moving quickly if we actually want to catch them. The more Beilschmidt is entertained, the least likely he is to simply dump Matthew somewhere in some random country."

"Right," Alfred nodded. He had to be a hero now, he couldn't let his mind be clouded with that stupid secret. Matthew needed him.

And there was no way he was going to let his brother down.

* * *

**So, last chapter, you got a whole thing of just Mattie and Gil, so this chapter you got a whole thing of FACE (minus the C) and Elizaveta. Things are getting pretty heated in their chase, but Gilbert doesn't seem that worried about it. We also got a sort of spill of this secret everyone is so interested in, but you still don't know anything, my pretties. Anywho, they're going to Spain now, so the chase is going to really get started.**

**Will is stop there, though? You can probably tell it won't, considering I plan on this fic actually being fairly long. (As well as the map of Europe pic for this fic.)**

**Anywho, I'm done talking now.**

**Please review! I love you all!**


	10. Relaxing

Gilbert was just itching to go outside, Matthew could tell. He was rushing them through everything the second the plane landed. He plowed through the people getting out of the plane and practically ran through the airport. He even rushed through the "secret side way" to get past customs and, in a flash, they were close to the doors outside. It was pouring rain outside, but that didn't seem to stop Gilbert as he dashed outside, stretching happily.

"Thank Gott!" Gilbert cheered, thoroughly soaked in rain as Matthew stood under the protective covering overhanging just above the exit doors.

"You really don't do well in planes, do you?" Matthew asked with a giggle and Gilbert laughed, happily soaking in the rain. That was when Matthew noticed, however, that the temporary black hair dye was washing out. "Gil, your hair."

"Yeah, I know it's fucking awesome," Gilbert smirked and put a hand to his head. When it came back black, he winced. "Fuck…"

"As long as our disguise is going down the toilet, can I have my glasses back?" Matthew let out a sigh, holding out his hand. It didn't seem like a lot of people were noticing, going on with their lives as usual, and Gilbert let out a small sigh, tossing Matthew his glasses back. In return, Matthew tossed Gilbert the beanie he had previously been sporting. "You know, I had no idea that that was how criminals got around countries."

"I don't know if it's what criminals do," Gilbert shrugged, swiftly placing the hat over his hair, though a few parts did stick out quite a bit. "It's just the awesome thing I do."

"Why do you use the word awesome so much?" Matthew asked curiously and Gilbert swiftly turned around.

"It's awesome, what else can I say?" Gilbert shrugged as he started walking, putting a hand over his eyes. "Some friends of mine started it a while back and it just kinda stuck with me, I guess. Anyway, I give it a couple hours before that cow comes after us, since I'm being really predictable right now, so we've got that long to be able to just relax. You know, as long as this beanie stays and we make sure we aren't too obvious."

"It helps that it's raining so no one's really looking around," Matthew shrugged, following Gilbert. Matthew stuck his hands into his pockets and smiled slightly. It was pretty warm in Spain, despite it being fairly late into winter. Just a few days ago, in London, it had snowed. Yet, here, it was warm and raining. Matthew let out a small, content sigh. He knew he should feel bad for just…ditching his family. But it was obvious Gilbert didn't mean to harm him and it didn't seem like they were paying whatever ransom Gilbert gave them yet… "I'm really curious how much you asked for me."

"Ja? Why?" Gilbert asked, crossing a street calmly, as there were no cars around for the moment. Matthew followed him closely. He couldn't understand any of the signs around them, but Gilbert looked like he knew just where he was going. He could have been just as lost as Matthew, but he obviously wasn't letting on.

"Well, I'm just curious," Matthew shrugged, pushing up his glasses and frowning at the drops of water blinding his vision. "Obviously, they haven't paid it yet, so that means it must be pretty high."

"It's worth as much as you are, in my opinion at least," Gilbert shrugged.

"And how much is that?" Matthew let out a sigh. By now, they were simply walking alongside a busy road, probably towards a city, but Matthew couldn't see that well through the rain.

"Why are you so curious about it?" Gilbert laughed happily, obviously intent on avoiding the question.

"Gil, how much was it?" Matthew demanded.

"Aw, now I get a nickname?" Gilbert winked back at him. "Thanks, Birdie!"

"Gil, I'm serious!" Matthew let out a huff in irritation. "How much did you ask for me?"

"At first, it was about a million euros," Gilbert sighed and Matthew stopped dead in his tracks. Never did he ever think that he was worth a…a million euros. "But I decided that definitely wasn't enough, so I raised it."

"I'm not worth that much," Matthew shook his head, his voice coming out quiet. Gilbert raised an eyebrow, glancing back at him.

"You shouldn't talk down to yourself," Gilbert smirked. "You're worth every euro I said. I'm sure your own family should know that."

"How much is it now?" Matthew asked quietly.

"A trillion," Gilbert shrugged and continued walking. Matthew, meanwhile, was still stuck to his spot. One trillion euros? No way, he was definitely not worth that much, especially to a stranger he'd met just a day or two before. It was no wonder his family hadn't paid to get him back yet! That was impossible. A completely irrational request! There was no way that he was worth that much money…

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Gilbert sighed, shouting over the cars and the rain. Matthew was about to say something, but he felt something oddly heavy land in his hair. It definitely wasn't rain.

Instinctively, Matthew moved one hand to swipe at it, but when he saw a small, yellow ball of fluff, he swiftly moved his hands out to catch it. It just looked like a little ball and Matthew tried to look closer at it, over the rims of his glasses still splotched with rain. It looked like there were feathers lacing the little ball. After a short while, two beady black eyes blinked open and him and Matthew jumped slightly. This thing was alive?! It let out a faint chirp before nuzzling into Matthew's palm, seeming intent on staying there.

"What the hell is keeping you, Birdie?" Gilbert groaned, walking up to him.

"This thing landed in my hair," Matthew muttered, still looking down at the yellow ball. Its eyes closed again and Gilbert was actually silent for a short while.

"No fucking way," Gilbert started laughing before scooping up the ball from Matthew's hand, using one hand to cover it from the rain. "Gilbird?" Gilbert swiftly sat down right where he was and Matthew stared down at him as if he was crazy. Gilbert didn't look up at him, though, seeming intent on staring at the little ball. "If Toni kept you alive, I'm gonna give him the biggest, most fucking awesome hug ever! Oh, my God!" Matthew started laughing when he saw Gilbert pet the little ball, his face lighting up like that of a child on Christmas.

"I take it you two know each other?" Matthew giggled and Gilbert glanced up at him, as if finally noticing he was still there.

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert said proudly. "This is the one and only Gilbird! I saved him after that bastard, Ivan, un-awesomely broke his wing when I was fucking 8! Birds can apparently live forever!"

"Ivan?" Matthew asked.

"Don't worry about it," Gilbert let out a sigh, standing up. "Anyway, Gilbird looks pretty tired, probably flew all the way from Toni's place to come greet me!"

"I don't think a bird can sense if someone is nearby," Matthew sighed.

"Then you know nothing of our awesome connection!" Gilbert scoffed and looked around his body. "Damn, I have no warm place to keep him without him possibly suffocating.

"You can just hold him," Matthew rolled his eyes. "We really shouldn't be standing in the rain this long," he let out a sigh and continued walking in the direction Gilbert was walking in. He had never expected Gilbert to have feelings like that for a bird, of all things. It was interesting to see a soft side like that come from such a well-known criminal, especially after he was being all high-and-mighty just a few seconds earlier.

"What? You think I'll catch a cold or something?" Gilbert scoffed, carefully holding a hand over his little friend as he walked next to Matthew. "I've never caught a cold in my life."

"You know, there's a superstition that a fool can't catch a cold," Matthew smirked, pushing up his glasses.

"I'm way too awesome to be a fool," Gilbert scoffed.

"Whatever you say, hot shot," Matthew rolled his eyes.

* * *

Alfred was so happy to be able to get at least a little rest. Even if it was just an hour or so. He stretched his arms slightly, standing up from the place he had sat in the private plane. Elizaveta was sitting at a table, staring intently at a laptop screen. Francis and Arthur were both asleep on the couch, doing some kind of couply cuddly thing that he tried not to gag at.

"Whatcha looking at?" Alfred as tiredly as he slumped across from Elizaveta at the table.

"Other than your adorable parents?" Elizaveta giggled, glancing over at Francis and Arthur before turning back to the laptop. "I'm looking through previous reports involving Gilbert."

"1. Ew," Alfred stated. He was perfectly fine with his parents doing couply things, just not around him. He was still a teenager, adult love was just nasty. "2. How many reports are there?"

"A lot," Elizaveta sighed, resting her head in her hand. "Not a lot of them are useful since hardly anyone's gotten close to him, even when he was a kid. A lot of things just don't add up, but with what Francis told me, it does make a little sense."

"Yeah, the all-important secret," Alfred sighed, slumping even more in his seat.

"Sorry," Elizaveta shrugged before continuing what she was talking about. "I've been on his tail for years now. He's gotten too good from experience. From what I can tell, he's been at this for years, since he was a kid, even. If I'm right, then that means that there's another big thing for me to uncover here."

"And what are you right about?" Alfred asked.

"Call it a crime ring," Elizaveta shrugged. "A gang, almost, but bigger. They all band under one leader and they have organized crime, doing whatever they want when they want. I think Gilbert may be a part of one."

"And this friend in Spain," Alfred stated, "is he a part of this crime ring, too?"

"Hard to say," Elizaveta muttered. "From what Francis said about him owning a restaurant, I doubt it. But that doesn't mean he's not still connected, right? Depending on what happens, Matthew might not even be at the hands of Gilbert for very long. Gilbert could just leave him with the crime ring and lead us on a wild goose chase, thinking he still has your brother."

"Could that be why he's gotten so good at getting away?" Alfred blinked. He couldn't stand the thought of his brother being at the hands of a gang like that…it made his skin crawl more than just the idea of Beilschmidt being with his brother.

"He could easily have help," Elizaveta shrugged. "He's always been hard to catch and it could very well be because he's had a lot of people to help him cover his tracks. My only question is why is he staying so obvious if this crime ring is probably supposed to be staying underground? If they were all like him, this would be a world-famous gang by now, but Gilbert's the only famous one around.

"Maybe he's the leader?" Alfred offered.

"He's not the type," Elizaveta muttered. "Then again, he wouldn't stand being a subordinate to anyone. This is all just so confusing. Francis didn't tell me near enough for me to fully know what's going on."

"So you're still not completely in the loop?" Alfred asked.

"Don't push your luck, kid," Elizaveta sighed, staring him in the eyes. "And don't ask questions you won't like the answer to."

"Why are you saying that, too?" Alfred groaned, hitting his head against the table.

"Pasts like his," Elizaveta glanced back at Francis, who nuzzled Arthur happily, "are not something you want to mess with. People don't like digging up stuff like that and people like you, innocent people, shouldn't try to get themselves involved in anything close to it. It's just best to not ask questions."

"Will you at least tell me how he knows Gilbert?" Alfred asked.

"That's a question you won't like the answer to," Elizaveta shook her head.

"Are you kidding me?" Alfred groaned.

"Ask your fathers," Elizaveta closed the laptop and looked out the window.

"Like they'll tell me anything," Alfred grumbled.

* * *

**OMG, it's Gilbird. I bet you all thought I forgot about him. Nope! There's a big reason why he's around, and Gilbert accidentally let a big secret slip up there. Ivan's involved in all of this now! How? You'll just have to wait to find out!**

**Also, Elizaveta doesn't know all of the secret? How big is it? What is everyone hiding? When will we all finally get to see Antonio?**

**Well, we'll have to find out the answers to these questions later. Please review, lovelies!**


	11. Friends

"Gil, I'm exhausted," Matthew muttered as he trudged into the city of Barcelona. He was pretty sure he looked like crap, but on the bright side, the rain had lifted. It was around late afternoon, but Gilbert seemed fairly interested in his little bird.

"Well, I'm sure once we find Toni, he'll let us chill at his place," Gilbert shrugged, walking easily ahead of Matthew. The latter let out a sigh, glancing around the city. It was fairly beautiful, though he knew it probably looked better when it was sunny. And when he could see well through his glasses. Matthew felt a shiver go through his body. He was probably going to get a cold sometime soon.

At least Gilbert was right; he wasn't bored.

While Matthew let out a yawn, his foot caught on a loose brick on the path they were walking on and he stumbled forward, barely able to catch himself on his hands and knees.

"Merde," Matthew cursed under his breath.

"Shit, Birdie," Gilbert let out a sigh and placed the bird on top of the beanie before kneeling down next to Matthew. "Are you alright?"

"I'm tired, I'm probably getting sick, I'm a little cold, and I just tripped," Matthew muttered, looking down at his hands, which were fairly scuffed up. There was hardly any blood, though, thankfully. "I'm fantastic."

"Well, on the bright side, I can see the Arthur Kirkland in you shining through," Gilbert smirked and Matthew let out a small laugh, his head falling against Gilbert's chest.

"That was a lot like Arthur," Matthew chuckled. "I'm just tired, I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"You're alright, Birdie," Gilbert chuckled, patting Matthew on the back. Gilbird tweeted happily from on top of Gilbert's beanie. "You're probably happy it's not raining anymore, huh?'

"How close do you think we are to your friend's place?" Matthew asked, pulling back. "I'm sure he might be closing soon because of the time and it sounded like you just knew where he worked, not where he lived."

"It could very well be the same place," Gilbert shrugged. "But I know what you mean. You alright to stand and keep walking? I'm sure we're close."

"You're sure we're close?" Matthew blinked at him.

"I can't memorize address and un-awesome shit like that," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I just know the general area. It can't be that hard to find, just follow the smell of the tomatoes."

"You need to get better at planning," Matthew sighed and slowly stood up, Gilbert following closely behind. Gilbird chirped excitedly just as a man whistling passed them by and left from Gilbert's head to move onto the chocolate brown hair of the stranger. He had his hands casually stuffed into the pockets of his slacks as he calmly and happily made his way through the crowd of where they were. It wasn't a large crowd, though, so Matthew could easily follow him with his eyes. Once Gilbird made it to the man, he opened up his bright green eyes and smiled brightly, revealing a bright smile.

"Hola, Gilbird!" he greeted in Spanish and continued to speak rapidly in the language.

"Toni!" Gilbert yelled out and practically tackled the poor man. Matthew just stood back, giggling at the scene as the man swiftly recovered before hugging Gilbert back.

"Wait…" the man muttered, his English heavy with a Spanish accent as he pulled Gilbert back to arm's length. Gilbird happily flew about between them. "Gil?"

"In the awesome flesh!" Gilbert announced proudly and Antonio swiftly hugged him once again.

"I never thought…" the man, who Matthew guessed was this "Toni" laughed. "What about Ivan?"

"I ran away from that asshole ages ago," Gilbert scoffed and glanced back at Matthew as they pulled out of their second hug. "You've seen the news, right?"

"Si, you've been pretty busy the past couple days," Toni chuckled before glancing over at Matthew as well. He let out an amused sigh. "You want me to keep you two for the night, don't you?"

"You're the only guy I know that'll have me," Gilbert let out a sigh. "And I don't know this place well enough to try to hide anywhere."

"You never plan things out well, amigo," Toni let out a sigh before walking up to Matthew with a hand happily stretched out. "Hola! My name is Antonio Carriedo! You are Matthew Williams, si?"

"Uh, yes," Matthew nodded slightly, taking the hand. This man really was cheerful, but he really had to wonder how Gilbert knew him. Apparently, they did have that "Ivan" in common. Matthew was very curious, though he didn't ask, seeing the tint in Antonio's eyes when he said that simple name.

"Oi, Toni," Gilbert drew Antonio's attention back to him. "If you don't mind, I'm sure the police are gonna start searching soon. I've been kinda predictable and I'm sure it's gonna bite me in the ass soon."

"You went to see Francis first, si?" Antonio sighed and Gilbert nodded. Matthew gave them a confused look and Gilbert glanced back at him before looking back at Antonio. Francis? Did they mean his own papa? Or could it have possibly been another Francis? Sure, there were probably a few others around, but it couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?

"Yeah, I did," Gilbert sighed. "Then shit kinda happened. That's not important, now we gotta get somewhere we won't be found."

"Si, si," Antonio sighed and started walking. "I do not know how you managed to make the flight all the way from Britain to here, amigo. You never even liked boats!"

"The shit I deal with to see you, huh?" Gilbert asked smugly as Gilbird happily landed on his shoulder as they followed Antonio.

"Hey, Gil," Matthew muttered and Gilbert looked at him with a smile, obviously elated to see his old friend. "Do you know my papa?"

"Don't ask questions you won't like the answer to, Birdie," Gilbert messed up his hair with an oddly serious expression before walking a little quicker, towards Antonio.

"Yeah, because that's not suspicious at all," Matthew let out a huff and followed him closely behind.

* * *

Alfred cracked his neck, stretching his arms as he watched Elizaveta talking hurriedly to the police force that had been given to her for their search in Barcelona. Francis and Arthur looked like they were still recovering from their little "nap" and stood behind Alfred. He was getting antsy after that talk with Elizaveta on the plane. Anything could be happening to his brother right now. Anything. Just the thought made him clench his fists to the point where his nails nearly drew blood.

"Alright," Elizaveta sighed, looking down at a walkie-talkie as she walked back to the two. "I'm in the loop, but my Spanish isn't exactly good, so we'll see how that goes. We're cleared to begin our own search here, just as long as we don't interrupt anything. No obstructing the tourists or locals, got it?"

"There is only one local we will need to talk to," Francis sighed, slowly walking up to her.

"And we have a search for him going now," Elizaveta stated. "For now, we're going to have to assume they're lost and still trying to find him as well. Gilbert's never really been in this city, but he's been in Spain before. From what I can tell, he can't speak Spanish and he'll probably be lost."

"So we have an advantage?" Arthur asked, though it sounded like he hardly believed it himself.

"Just like we should have had an advantage considering he's never been in London before," Elizaveta gave a small smile before turning around. "Anyway, us four should get to looking. I say we split up, you all have your phones, right?"

"Yes, surprisingly Alfred's still works," Arthur stated.

"At least I'm not lying," Alfred shrugged before swiftly starting off in some random direction.

"And he's off," Elizaveta sighed.

Alfred had never been in Barcelona before and, had he been a tourist, he knew he would be going around, trying to flirt with girls and gushing over how cool everything looked. But the sun was setting and just the idea of Matthew spending an entire night with that bastard made Alfred's skin crawl. He was going to make sure that they caught Gilbert here, and then he would deal with that damn secret.

He had no idea why he cared so much, he just did. It mattered that his own father said they wouldn't keep secrets while, the whole time, he was keeping such a big one from him.

Alfred stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked around. He was sure he could talk to people, ask about this Antonio Carriedo they were supposed to find. But that would require knowing Spanish, probably. He was never very good when it came to other languages. When Francis tried to teach him French that one time, it was a train wreck. Knowing Matthew, though, the language genius that he was, he would probably even know a little Spanish himself.

"And then that was when Lovi started blushing like the tomatoes around him!" A sudden, loud voice stated behind Alfred and he sighed with relief. This guy seemed fluent in English, thank God. He swiftly turned around, easily still overhearing what the man was saying to try to find him. "He'll never admit it and he hits me as hard as he can whenever I say it, but it's still adorable! He can't really change my mind!"

"Hey, dude!" Alfred called out, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. He had dark brown hair and, when he turned around, Alfred could see bright green eyes. He jumped quite a bit at the touch, but seemed to quickly recover and smiled happily at him.

"Hola, señor!" the man greeted happily.

"You speak English, right?" Alfred asked. He looked around, expecting to see people that this man was talking to, but no one was around.

"Yes, are you a tourist, are you lost?" the Spaniard asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No, I'm looking for someone," Alfred stated, shaking his head.. "Uh, weren't you just talking to someone?"

"Phone," the man smiled, holding up his phone happily.

"Uh, sure," Alfred sighed. "Look, you've seen it on the news, right? That criminal Beilschmidt kidnapped Matthew Williams, son of Arthur Kirkland?"

"Si," the man nodded. "It seems like a very troublesome deal. Wait, I thought you looked familiar! That means you are Alfred Jones, si?"

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "We followed them here, to this city, apparently Beilschmidt is looking for someone. Have you seen them?"

"No," the man shook his head. "I mean, I haven't seen a lot of pictures of the kid, but apparently he looks like you. And I haven't seen…the criminal," oddly enough, he had to say those two words slowly, as if he wasn't used to it, "around. Shouldn't he be in disguise or something, anyway? I mean, he would know he's being chased, right?"

"Then how about this?" Alfred sighed. Maybe if this guy hadn't seen the criminal or his brother, he'd seen Antonio Carriedo. "Have you seen-"

He was cut off by the man's phone ringing. He smiled and put up one finger, to tell Alfred to wait. He answered it in Spanish, nodding and talking rapidly in a language Alfred couldn't even begin to understand. He really wished he'd learned another language at this point. Lord knew how helpful that would be right now.

"I have to go, amigo, sorry!" the man sighed, hanging up the phone. "Something has happened at home and I must leave now! I wish you luck with finding your brother!"

"Wait!" Alfred called out to the man, who had already disappeared into the crowd, like he'd never been there. "Do you even know Carriedo?"

Alfred let out a sigh, kicking at a pebble and returning his hands to his pockets. He glanced around the buildings, that he was sure would have been beautiful if he weren't in his current position. He knew he, Francis, and Arthur would be staying in a comfortable, expensive hotel. But what about Matthew? Would he be stuck sleeping in some alleyway? Or could he even sleep?

It was going to drive Alfred crazy if he didn't figure out what was happening to his brother soon.

* * *

**God, I don't know where my time goes. I write these things in advance and it it's just weird how sometimes, I have no time to write. And then there's the fact that my friends and I are turning ourselves into a pirate crew (I'm the captain, bitches) and that has turned into a story. I'm so busy lately, but luckily I don't need free time anymore!**

**Please review!**


	12. Luck

Gilbert pressed Matthew into the brick wall of the alley way, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. The second he saw that damn American, he got this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew he was pressing Matthew fairly hard into the bricks, but he definitely didn't want Matthew to try to leave, he was his Birdie right now. He knew Matthew was going along with him, but that didn't mean he couldn't just change his mind any time he wanted to. He was listening intently to the conversation, and he was about ready to intervene if he had to, but Antonio's phone rang, thankfully.

"Gil, I can't feel my arms," Matthew muttered and Gilbert drew his attention back to the boy he was supposed to be holding hostage. Gilbert couldn't help but wonder why he was keeping this kid around, or why he was beginning to get closer to him.

"Sorry," Gilbert sighed, loosening his grip, but still keeping Matthew pressed against the wall.

"You seem a lot less cocky when you're nervous," Matthew chuckled and Gilbert looked back down at him.

"Are you making fun of me?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Matthew shrugged as best he could with Gilbert pressing him down.

"Whatever," Gilbert sighed, relaxing slightly when he saw Alfred walk away. "I didn't expect them to be around this city so soon. I didn't think I was being that obvious."

"Maybe you're just a bit rusty," Matthew offered. "Now would you mind letting me go?"

"Nah, I'm okay," Gilbert smirked.

"Do you just enjoy tormenting me?" Matthew sighed. It was obvious that Matthew was tired and Gilbert was becoming really amused at how snappy Matthew was slowly becoming. Being related to Alfred and being raised partially by a Brit was really shining through.

"Ja, pretty much," Gilbert laughed.

"Gil…" Matthew shook his head. "I am so not in the mood."

"Do you two need a moment?" Antonio asked amusedly and Gilbert let out a small groan, looking back to his old friend, who gave them a smirk. Immediately, Matthew blushed a bright red and ducked underneath Gilbert's arms, just getting out of his grip and swiftly going to Antonio.

"I'm sure we should probably get going," Matthew mumbled.

"Buzz kills," Gilbert grumbled.

"Are you ever panicked when people are coming after you?" Antonio laughed, turning around to continue walking as he was before.

"From what I've seen, I really don't think so," Matthew shook his head and Antonio laughed.

"Hey," Gilbert groaned. "I take my career very seriously, thank you."

"Career?" Matthew snorted, glancing back at him. "This is your career?"

"I've been in it for a long time," Gilbert shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He glanced up at the sky. It looked like it was still about to rain any second and it probably could continue raining fairly quickly, but they would hopefully be inside before that happened. Gilbert was never a fan of the rain, having slept in it multiple times in the past. He knew Antonio had, too, and it was pretty amusing that Antonio was walking fairly quickly, too.

It was great to see his friend again, after so long. It had been 8 long years since he'd seen him, but he could still recognize the man after all this time. He was still incredibly peppy, despite what had happened to him, and was just like Gilbert remembered him being.

"So, Gil," Antonio stated happily, glancing back at the albino. "What other countries have you managed to get to?"

"I went to Russia for a little bit," Gilbert shrugged, thankful Antonio knew just which questions to ask and which to avoid. "That fucking sucked. England sucked, Switzerland was kinda cool, Italy was awesome, Denmark was alright, and I kinda liked Finland, but it's way too cold up there."

"I've always liked the warmer places myself," Antonio chuckled. "Obviously if I decided to stay here."

"My turn to ask a question," Gilbert smirked. "Who's that Lovi you were talking about?"

Antonio chuckled happily before responding. "He came here to study abroad for college and came to my café a lot. He's Italian, and I guess a little rude sometimes, but he's really sweet. He left a couple weeks ago to go back to his little brother, but I was able to get his phone number."

"When you say 'a little rude sometimes', what do you mean?" Gilbert laughed and glancing around. He had just realized he hadn't gotten his emergency money yet for his stay here. In just a few seconds, he was able to spot a business man, his wallet obviously in his pocket. He definitely wouldn't notice it missing with all of the things occupying his hands.

"People say I'm too nice at explaining it," Antonio shrugged.

"Of course you are," Gilbert rolled his eyes before swiftly darting away to inconspicuously pick the man's pocket and obtain his wallet. Naturally, since he'd gotten so good at it, he'd managed to do it without anyone noticing. He swiftly picked out all of the paper money and was able to put the wallet back before he left, coming back to Antonio and Matthew.

"Really?" Matthew sighed and Gilbert just shrugged.

"I see your skills have improved," Antonio laughed and turned to Matthew. "You should have seen him the first time he tried to pick a pocket! He nearly got arrested!"

"Ja, ja, whatever," Gilbert rolled his eyes, swiftly standing between Antonio and Matthew. "Obviously I'm awesome, so I got better." Antonio's interest seemed to pique when Gilbert had said his usual term of self-endearment and Gilbert let out a small sigh. "Anyway, how far away is your freaking house? I'm getting tired."

"Like you sleep," Antonio smirked. "Just a little bit further, do not worry, amigo."

"This city is really beautiful," Matthew smiled slightly, looking around them and obviously acting like a tourist. Gilbert actually found it kind of odd how he wasn't even really in disguise anymore and, yet, no one noticed him. Sure, they were noticing his brother, just a few blocks away, but no one ever noticed him. "It must be great to live here."

"Si, es magnifico," Antonio smiled warmly, looking around the city as well. Gilbert glanced around. Sure, it looked nice, but he never really felt attached to one place to really like it. Besides, he was supposed to always be on the run, he couldn't just sit and smell the flowers, now could he?

* * *

Alfred let out a heavy sigh, leaning heavily against a nearby wall. People were already paying attention to him, some just smiling and waving as they passed, others trying to talk to him in Spanish, some wanting pictures. And how could Alfred say no? He was a celebrity, after all, but he did need to focus as much as he could to try to find his brother. Or even just that Antonio Carriedo guy. He'd managed to successfully ask one person, and they pointed him in a direction he was trying to get to.

Right now, though, there was a teenage girl talking to him in rapid Spanish and Alfred could only smile politely and nod.

"I'm really sorry," Alfred shrugged. "I have no idea what you're saying." The girl just smiled and nodded before continuing. "You have no idea what I'm saying, either, huh?"

Luckily, Alfred got a call from his phone, saving him. Alfred put up one finger and pulled out his phone. The girl nodded and happily walked away, going to gossip with her nearby friends happily.

"You have no idea how much I love you right now," Alfred sighed as he continued walking. He didn't even check who was calling him, not like he could see very well through the shattered screen.

"_Aw, I'm flattered_," Elizaveta laughed from the other side of the line. "_Any leads?_"

"Some guy gave me directions to his café," Alfred stated.

"_I got the same thing, too_," Elizaveta stated. "_I will see you there, then. Call Francis to see what he has and I'll take Arthur._"

"Right," Alfred nodded and the call ended. He swiftly called Francis and it didn't take long before the man answered.

"_Bonjour_," Francis gave a hefty sigh from his side of the line.

"No luck?" Alfred chuckled.

"_Non_," Francis stated. "_I am afraid I am having very terrible luck, no one I am talking to knows English. This city is so vast, as well, I have no idea what to do_."

"I was able to get Carriedo's café," Alfred stated. "Apparently Eliza's got the same thing, too. Could you tell me what the guy looks like? So I could have better luck finding him?"

"_He is tan_," Francis sighed. "_Dark brown hair, green eyes. He never takes things seriously._"

"Is it bad that I met someone like him a little bit ago?" Alfred let out a sigh.

"_There are probably quite a few people that will fit that description, mon fils_," Francis stated. "_I would not worry so much._"

"Yeah, yeah…" Alfred muttered. He looked up at the sky and even though there were still clouds everywhere, he could tell that it was going to become dark soon. "Hey, if you're having troubles, how about you try to find us a place to stay for the night?"

"_Oui, I think that may be best_," Francis sighed. "_Au revoir_."

"Later," Alfred sighed, hanging up. He took the last turn that guy had told him to take and quickly found a small café…which was closed. "Shit…" He muttered, coming up to the closed door.

"That's exactly how I feel," Elizaveta let out a sigh behind him. She glanced at the sign that told the times they would be open. "If all else fails, we can just come here in the morning, when it's open again."

"Why the hell is this so hard?" Alfred groaned, pressing his head against the window. He could see a little bit into the small building and a picture on a wall attracted his attention. There was a picture of two men, one of them being the guy Alfred had ran into that first time. He just had the worse luck. "Are you kidding me?"

"What is it?" Elizaveta asked, looking into the building.

"The picture on the back wall with the two guys," Alfred looked closer at it. That was definitely the guy. "I ran into one of them just a little while ago."

"The guy smiling or the guy that looks like he's about to rip the others' head off?" Elizaveta asked.

"The guy smiling," Alfred muttered.

"That's Carriedo," Elizaveta let out a sigh, turning around to lean on the glass.

"The universe hates me," Alfred hit his head against the glass. First he didn't even see his own brother when they were a few feet away from each other and now he ran right into Carriedo, but didn't know it. He was just a bad luck charm at this point.

"It's not that bad," Elizaveta stated. "Arthur said he got a lead and he was following it now. How was Francis?"

"Not so good," Alfred muttered. "He's getting us a place to stay."

"So we'll have to rely on Arthur," Elizaveta muttered. Alfred felt a drop of water land on his head and he took a step back, looking up at the sky. Another drop hit his glasses.

"Of course it's raining," Alfred grumbled and slumped onto the ground, resting his head in his hand.

"Hey, you should think on the bright side," Elizaveta smiled brightly. "You're in Barcelona, it's a really pretty city. And I am sure your brother is fine."

"Yeah, but if I weren't so stupid, we would have had them by now," Alfred sighed. "Twice."

"Maybe something else will happen tomorrow," Elizaveta shrugged. "You shouldn't be so down. You look a lot cuter when you're happy."

"What? Teenage angst isn't as hot as they make it out to be in the movies?" Alfred smirked slightly. Elizaveta giggled and her phone rang. She swiftly picked it up.

"Arthur?" She stayed quiet for a while. "Right. Francis is getting a hotel, we'll meet up there." She hung up the phone, storing it in her pocket.

"Any news?" Alfred asked.

"Dead end," Elizaveta sighed but she smiled shortly after. "Come on, let's go find that hotel Francis is getting for us."

* * *

**This chapter was so boring! There's, like, no action and not even any PruCan fluff. I am sad. But this is all I could do. Next chapter, hopefully, there will be more action or fluff, depending on how I'm feeling.**

**Also, we got to a hundred views last chapter! Special thanks to Kohei Takano for being number 100! I love you all!**

**Please review!**


	13. Sleep

"I expected something bigger," Gilbert stated as they walked into Antonio's apartment. It was pretty small, with just one main room, a kitchen, and then a door that signified there was a bedroom. For some reason, he expected Antonio to at least have some kind of house, not something this small and cramped.

"Well, I am living alone," Antonio shrugged. "Besides, I have a great view." With a bright smile, he opened the blinds covering a window, revealing a view of the sea. Despite the clouds and the stormy seas, it looked pretty impressive. Gilbert could only imagine it when it was sunny.

"Damn," Gilbert chuckled as Matthew yawned. Gilbert couldn't hold back a smile. Why the hell was Matthew so cute, it wasn't fair. He wasn't even trying, just his droopy eyes and that yawn made him adorable. "Oi, Toni, you think Birdie could crash on your couch?"

"Why do you call him Birdie?" Antonio laughed.

"That's what I would like to know, eh?" Matthew muttered and slumped onto the couch in the main room. It was big enough for him, but probably no one else. Gilbert didn't mind, though, he could easily just sleep on the floor if he wanted to. Gilbert's smile widened when he noticed that Matthew's Canadian accent was adorable, too.

"It's an awesome nickname, what can I say?" Gilbert shrugged. "It's way too awesome for you guys to understand."

"Go ahead and sleep, amigo," Antonio laughed, glancing at Matthew.

"Merci," Matthew nodded, gratefully falling onto his side on the couch, his back to the other two men in the room.

"Gil," Antonio smiled and glanced at the kitchen. Gilbert knew he wanted to talk to him, but since Matthew was still awake, they would have to talk far away and quietly. Gilbert nodded to his friend and they both swiftly walked over to the kitchen. There, Antonio's mood quickly dropped and became serious, something Gilbert was used to. "Why are you visiting me?"

"I haven't seen you in years," Gilbert sighed. "Franny for even longer. You're pretty much the only fucking friends I had. I might as well see how you're doing."

"If you ran away, _he_ is probably still looking for you," Antonio stated. "He didn't follow Francis or me because I'm sure he didn't like us. But you were like his favorite toy. I have no idea how you've managed to stay away from him for so long."

"I'm awesome, I've got this," Gilbert sighed.

"It doesn't help you're still all over the news," Antonio shook his head. "If anyone wanted to find you, it would be easy. But Ivan…I'm sure he's been close to you every step since you ran way."

"It's not like I can try to lay low," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "And if that creep even tries anything, I can get away. I know what I'm doing, Toni."

"And if he catches you?" Antonio asked.

"That's not gonna happen," Gilbert groaned. "He can't even get close to me."

"What if he is close?" Antonio pressed. "It doesn't help you're starting to get close with somebody."

"Who, Birdie?" Gilbert glanced at Matthew, who stirred slightly. "I'm not getting close to him."

"I saw the way you were looking at him, amigo," Antonio shook his head. "If you weren't getting close with him, you would have left him in England. Now you are making such a big deal about it that everyone in the world knows. Even Ivan. Do you know what he would do with that kind of information?"

"He didn't get to Ludwig, did he?" Gilbert growled and Antonio let out a sigh of defeat, staying quiet. He knew full well Gilbert would never even mention Ludwig out loud, but it was an important point to make. "I'm not that close with Birdie, either. Nothing is going to happen."

"What is keeping your little brother safe now that you're not there?" Antonio asked delicately.

"He can handle himself," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "That's not the point here. I know exactly what I'm doing. I just wanted to see old friends after I haven't seen them in at least 8 years."

"Si, si," Antonio sighed, shaking his head. "It is good to see you, and I am sure Gilbird is just as excited. I just want to make sure you are being careful."

"When am I not being careful?" Gilbert smirked, glancing back at Matthew. Gilbird had seemed to like the kid and, even now, was nuzzling into his hair.

"He is cute, si?" Antonio asked smugly.

"Toni," Gilbert groaned, looking back to his friend.

"If you do not take him, I am sure someone else will," Antonio shrugged. "I hear his brother is quite the player, maybe some of that will rub off onto him."

"Not to mention Franny's his dad," Gilbert smirked. "I wanna know how the hell that," he gestured to Matthew, "happened with the family he has."

"Must be a God-send," Antonio patted Gilbert's back before retreating back to the living room.

"So help me, Toni," Gilbert groaned, following the man, "one more word about it and I will kill you."

"So, you went to Italy," Antonio asked amusedly. "How was that?"

"I got the shit beat out of me," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Good thing I found a guy that would help me."

* * *

"Why is this so hard?" Alfred groaned as he opened the door to the hotel room. Francis and Arthur were already inside, sitting on a comfortable couch. The entire room was lavish and Alfred quickly realized that the room had stairs that went up to a second story. If he wasn't so stressed out, he would have been freaking out about how cool that thing was.

"This criminal is good at what he does," Arthur muttered, shaking his head. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't be world-renowned."

"Our best bet to find Carriedo would be to go to his café when it opens," Elizaveta sighed. "According to the police, there haven't been any signs of Gilbert anywhere. The biggest thing on the news is that the Kirkland family is here."

"Why are we called the Kirkland family if we all have a different last name?" Alfred huffed, falling onto an armchair next to the couch.

"It is because the most famous person here has the last name of Kirkland," Francis stated with a shrug.

"Anyway," Elizaveta sighed. "The best we can do now is get some rest. We're all exhausted and I'm sure Gilbert isn't. If we want any hope in catching him, we need to be in our top conditions."

"What time does that café open?" Arthur asked.

"It said 8 in the morning," Elizaveta stated.

"Then we'll get there at 7:30. Alfred, make sure you are awake at 7," Arthur stated.

"Just because I have a hard time waking up at home, doesn't mean I'm gonna have a hard time waking up here," Alfred pouted.

"Oui, oui, je suis trés fatigue," Francis muttered, standing up and running a hand through his hair. "Mon cher."

"Good night," Arthur nodded to Alfred and then Elizaveta before standing up and following Francis to some door that probably lead to the master bedroom.

"Guess that means our rooms are upstairs," Alfred sighed, lazily moving to the stairs. He hated having to sit back and just wait for the morning, but it was all he could do, all he should do. He was exhausted, that much was obvious. And if he was going to have any kind of shot going against Beilschmidt, he was going to have to be well rested. Any day could be the day they get Matthew back.

"You know, I think it's really cute how much you want to get your brother back," Elizaveta chimed behind Alfred, who glanced back at her. "I mean, there's a lot of families that would have just waited for the message of the money to be delivered and then just handed over the money, or they would have waited in their cozy homes as the police tried to get their family member back. I see it all the time. But you guys are out here, with the police, running off hardly any hours of sleep to try to get him back. It's really sweet."

"Yeah, well, next time he says I'm not a hero, I'm gonna make him eat his words," Alfred smirked. He missed his brother like crazy. He missed that quiet voice that would laugh at his antics and call him an idiot, but in the nicest way possible. The kid that would hate being invisible, but did nothing to change it. Matthew was always the logical one, whenever Alfred tried to do something stupid, and Alfred had no idea how much he took him for granted until he was gone.

"I'm sure you will be his hero," Elizaveta giggled and Alfred noticed that they had reached the top of the stairs. There were four doors, one of which opened to a bathroom. Alfred figured Francis got them a hotel suite with four rooms just in case they did get Matthew back, though that was a long shot in the first place. Besides, once they got Matthew back, Alfred was going to make sure they slept in the same room for as long as possible.

"I'm gonna see if I can get some sleep," Alfred sighed, trudging to some random door.

"Good luck," Elizaveta smiled and they both went into their own rooms.

Alfred let out a sigh, kicking off his shoes before face-planting onto the bed. He figured his stuff was either still in the car they rented, or somewhere in this suite, but he had no intention on finding it yet. For now, he simply turned on an alarm on his phone to get him up at 7 and slipped into sleep with surprising ease.

He had a nightmare about Matthew not wanting to come back with them.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is so short… I just didn't have a lot of stuff to do in this one and next chapter has more stuff, I promise. Also, that hotel suite is based off the hotel room I had when I went to France with my family, yeah it's pretty cool. I've also had a hotel suite with three floors and its own elevator when I went to Florida… Before you ask, I'm not rich, I'm middle class. I have no idea how my family managed to get such awesome places, but yeah, that suite is not unrealistic, that's my main point here.**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling, you probably don't even care about my personal life. Please review! I love you all!**


	14. Safety

The first thing Matthew noticed when he woke up was that his eyes hurt, probably because he fell asleep with those color contacts in. He grumbled slightly as he took them out carefully, setting them on the table in front of the couch he was on since he didn't know what else to do with them. He noticed that Gilbert's beanie was laid on the table as well. He looked around the room and it looked like it was fairly early in the morning when Matthew looked out of the window. The clouds were mostly gone and the view looked beautiful.

Matthew hummed happily, looking around the rest of the room. There was no sign of Antonio, though Gilbert seemed intent on sleeping on the ground, flat on his back. His mouth was open in his sleep, seeming to be in a far deeper sleep them he'd been in a while. Matthew smiled softly and tried to hold back a giggle at how hilarious Gilbert looked.

"He's funny, no?" Antonio laughed next to him and Matthew jumped slightly, glancing over to see Antonio with a mug of coffee in his hands, his hair messed up and his face drowsy. "Oh, I scared you, lo siento."

"It's okay," Matthew nodded and glanced back at Gilbert. "Yeah, he does look pretty funny."

"I do not know how you naturally wake up so early," Antonio sighed dramatically, taking a drink from his coffee. "I miss my sleep since I decided to open my place early."

"Alfred hates waking up early, too," Matthew laughed lightly. "Papa usually doesn't like it much either, considering he likes his beauty sleep."

"Your papa is that Francis…Bonnefoy, si?" Antonio asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah," Matthew nodded simply. So, maybe Antonio and Gilbert didn't know Francis, maybe it was just some other person with the same name.

"What is he like?" Antonio asked with a small smile. "He does not seem like the normal famous person."

"For a while, he didn't want to be famous," Matthew shrugged, smiling slightly at the memory. "But I guess, now that he is, he hasn't changed much or let it get to his head. He's really nice, especially to Arthur, even though he likes to flirt. But I've never really seen him flirt with anyone like he does Arthur."

"Ugh, that's so sappy!" Gilbert groaned from his place on the ground, rolling over onto his side, his back to them.

"I think it's cute!" Antonio laughed happily. "You don't get a love story like that every day!"

"You can read about it in a book!" Gilbert sighed heavily before sitting upright. "And I do not look funny."

"You never have had a deep sleep in your life," Antonio shook his head.

"It's a gift," Gilbert shrugged. "Besides, if anyone looks funny, it's you two. You don't even have mein awesome features!"

"Because awesome would be the word for that," Antonio laughed, sipping his coffee once again before going into the kitchen.

"So, Birdie," Gilbert stood up. "You ready to get going? We can't stay here for too much longer, right?"

"Are you always in such a hurry?" Matthew laughed.

"Staying in one place for too long drives me crazy, remember?" Gilbert smirked, sending him a wink. "Besides, there's plenty more places to see. And less touristy places, too. I have no idea why Toni decided to live here, of all places."

"I think this city is beautiful!" Antonio called from the kitchen.

"That doesn't mean it isn't lame!" Gilbert called back and started stretching his arms in front of his chest. "Gott, that floor's probably the most comfortable thing I've slept on in a while!"

"I don't think that's a good thing," Matthew shook his head as he stood up. He could feel a crick in his neck from just sleeping on the couch, he couldn't imagine the floor. Gilbert didn't even have a pillow. Matthew had to wonder how much this man actually slept outside, in the cold or in the rain…

"I'm awesome, I can handle anything," Gilbert smirked and Matthew noticed that Gilbird had flown into the room, only the land on Gilbert's head. "Should I take you along, Gilbird?"

"Why did you name him Gilbird?" Matthew asked.

"I was 8," Gilbert shrugged, causally picking up the beanie. "Besides, my name is freaking awesome! Why wouldn't I name something after me?"

"I worry for your children, if you ever have any," Matthew shook his head.

"They would be just as awesome as me!" Gilbert pouted.

"Si, amigo," Antonio sighed, coming out of the kitchen with a different mug, this one he could walk with. "Now, if you are going to leave, you might as well go while I do."

"Yeah, whatever, Toni," Gilbert shrugged and started for the door. Matthew just laughed and followed him closely behind.

"Try not to get into too much trouble," Antonio sighed, closing the door behind them and locking it swiftly with his free hand.

"Try to take care of your hair before you get to work," Gilbert smirked, his hands in his pockets. Matthew glanced between the two of them in the silence that followed. Both of them obviously wanted to say something, but apparently didn't know how to say it, leaving them in an awkward stare-down.

"Could you get anymore awkward?" Matthew sighed, pushing Gilbert in Antonio's direction. "Just hug like friends and get it over with."

"See ya around, Toni," Gilbert laughed and Antonio laughed as well, hugging Gilbert with his free arm. They both smiled, but Matthew could see the sad looks in their faces, as if neither of them expected to see each other again. They probably wouldn't.

"Adios, Gilbert!" Antonio patted his shoulder as they parted and started walking down the street. "Goodbye, Matthew!"

"Bye," Matthew nodded to him and watched as he turned a corner.

"Let's get going," Gilbert swiftly turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, Matthew following him closely behind.

"Do you know where you're going?" Matthew giggled.

"Of course not," Gilbert shrugged. "That's what makes it more fun, right?"

"Whatever you say," Matthew shook his head.

"Sheiβe," Gilbert cursed under his breath, stopping dead in his tracks.

"What?" Matthew asked.

"Fuck, not now," Gilbert muttered and immediately turned around, gripping onto Matthew's arm and roughly pulling him along.

"Gilbert, what's wrong?" Matthew pressed and Gilbert turned into an alley before swiftly pushing Matthew against the wall. Gilbert used one hand to ensure his hair was completely covered by that beanie before he covered Matthew's mouth.

"Don't make a sound," Gilbert said quietly. It sent a shiver down Matthew's spine, seeing this man so serious…and dangerous. Gilbert leaned close to him, keeping an eye at the entrance of the alleyway. Gilbert was really close to him, as if hoping to make it seem like they were one person. A few people passed by and Gilbert closed his eyes, pressing further into Matthew.

Matthew glanced at the entrance and saw a few people walk by, talking rowdily in some language Matthew couldn't understand. They obviously weren't cops…so why was Gilbert running away from them? Why was he hiding? This man that was never worried, not even when the cops were just a few feet away from him, was…shaking as the men passed by.

A few minutes after the men left, Gilbert pulled back, releasing his grip over Matthew's mouth as he looked back in their direction.

"Why were we just hiding?" Matthew asked immediately. "Those weren't even the police."

"Not just the police are after me, Birdie," Gilbert muttered darkly.

"Who else is after you?" Matthew asked.

"Don't ask questions you won't like the answer to," Gilbert sighed and Gilbird nuzzled worriedly into his beanie. "Come on, we've gotta keep moving."

* * *

"Alfred, get up, now!" Elizaveta slammed open the door to Alfred's room, causing the boy to nearly jump out of his bed.

"Jesus Christ, Eliza!" Alfred snapped at her.

"We've got them," Elizaveta stated, waving the walkie-talkie in her hand.

"Just give me a second," Alfred nodded and Elizaveta nodded in return, running down the hallway and down the stairs, probably to tell Arthur and Francis.

Alfred quickly tore off the covers from his bed and glanced around, relieved to see his own suitcase was in this room. He ripped it open, pulling out some random clothes he didn't see before pulling them and then running down the stairs. Elizaveta came out of Arthur and Francis' room, talking furiously into the walkie-talkie.

"Give me street names, give me something," Elizaveta barked.

There was static on the other side Alfred couldn't quite register, but Elizaveta's sharp ears easily caught it.

"Get men there now. I don't care if you have guns, just don't shoot. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"What bloody time is it?" Arthur snapped, pulling on some random jacket Alfred was pretty sure was Francis'.

"Nearly 7," Elizaveta nodded. "Arthur and Francis, you two should head over to Carriedo's shop. Alfred and I can handle Beilschmidt."

"What if you find Matthieu?" Francis asked hurriedly.

"We can handle it," Elizaveta nodded and Alfred nodded as well.

"Fine, then," Arthur nodded with a sigh and the group walked quickly to the door. As soon as they were out of the hotel, Alfred and Elizaveta started running. Alfred had no idea where to go, so he was simply following the girl that knew what she was doing. Before long, they had to push through ha heavy crowd of people before reaching quite a few police officers. They were surrounding an alleyway.

"This is where you got him?" Elizaveta asked, panting.

The man nodded, replying in rapid Spanish.

"So you understand English, you just can't speak it?" Elizaveta asked the man as Alfred pushed past her and into the alleyway. If Beilschmidt was in there, that meant Matthew was, too. He was going to get his brother back, no matter what. "Wait, Alfred!"

When Alfred entered the alleyway, he found the criminal, his stark white hair popping out of some beanie and his eyes closed as he had his hands laced behind his head and he leaned against the wall of the alley. He seemed pretty damn pleased with himself, despite the fact that he was surrounded. Alfred could see the alleyway open on the other side, where he saw even more cops. This guy was screwed, but he didn't seem worried at all.

When Alfred got close, Beilschmidt opened a beady red eye at him and smirked.

"Hey, kid," Beilschmidt laughed. "Nice to see you in person, finally. I gotta say, though, I like the way Matthew looks way better. He's way more awesome."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alfred asked as Elizaveta ran up behind him. The criminal just shrugged.

"You have got to be kidding me," Elizaveta panted.

"Hey, cow," the criminal smirked, nodding towards the woman. "How have you been since…where the hell was that when you got close, anyway?"

"Italy," Elizaveta muttered.

"Right," Beilschmidt laughed before standing up and rolling his shoulders.

"Don't move," Elizaveta commanded, pulling out a gun from a place Alfred couldn't even see and pointing it right at the criminal. The albino just laughed, obviously not caring.

"Go ahead, shoot me," Gilbert shrugged, obviously not worried in the slightest.

"What the hell are you up to, Beilschmidt?" Alfred growled.

"Why the hell are you calling me by my last name?" Beilschmidt laughed. "I'm pretty sure I dropped that name years ago."

"Where is Matthew?" Elizaveta asked, stepping closer to Gilbert with the gun pointed right at his head.

"Not here," Gilbert smirked, walking towards her as well. "Funny, huh?"

"What have you done to my brother, you freak?" Alfred spat out.

"He's fine, don't worry," Gilbert rolled his eyes before stopping to the point where Elizaveta's gun hit his forehead. "I've gotta keep him in good shape until that ransom is paid, ja?"

"What game are you playing, Gilbert?" Elizaveta narrowed her eyes.

"One you'll lose," Gilbert shrugged.

"Tell me where Matthew is or I will shoot," Elizaveta stated.

"Do it," Gilbert challenged, but the confidence in his eyes told Alfred that he would not lose this confrontation. "I dare you."

Elizaveta took a deep breath and it looked like her finger twitched against the trigger, but she didn't do it.

"Here, let me help you," Gilbert reached forward and pushed the woman's finger against the trigger. Alfred's eyes widened and he took a step back, ready to see the criminal with a hole in his head. But there was no gunshot and there was no blood. Gilbert just stood there with a smirk. "You left your safety on, sweetheart."

"Damn you," Elizaveta dropped the gun with a sigh.

"I'd be more fucking scared if you pulled out your frying pan of doom!" Gilbert cackled, holding onto his stomach. After a while of no one else talking, he straightened himself out. "Alright, look, the only reason I let myself get caught was because I just wanted to talk. And I got it out of my system. Now, I know you'll let me go."

"Why would I do that?" Elizaveta asked as Alfred's heart rate finally started to slow down from that thing with the gun. Sure, he wanted to be a hero, but he never even liked guns in the first place.

"You'll never know where Birdie is," Gilbert shrugged and Alfred clenched his hands into fists at the sound of that nickname. He knew it was meant for Matthew and that just made his skin crawl. "Unless you let me go. Besides, you've been after me long enough. You know that there's more that you can get if you chase after me."

Elizaveta set her jaw.

"You can seriously be thinking about listening to him," Alfred stated.

"You don't know the whole story," Elizaveta shook her head and pulled out the walkie-talkie. "All units stand down. We're letting him go."

"What?!" Alfred snapped. "No! We can't just let him go! He's holding my brother against his will!"

"I've been around the kid for a couple days," Gilbert laughed, passing by Alfred and messing up his hair further than it already was. "He's smart. If he was with me against his will, he would've gotten away by now. You tell me why he isn't here, with you now."

Alfred was fuming, but Gilbert chose that time to run and Alfred couldn't grab onto him quickly enough. Gilbert ran into the crowd, right past the police officers and through the crowd. Some cheered for him and some booed, but he got all the attention that he seemed to like.

Alfred punched the brick wall closest to him.

* * *

**Holy action! I didn't even see this coming until a few chapters ago. I got this brilliant idea of Gilbert and Alfred running into each other and this beautiful thing happened out of it. I loved the gun thing, I loved the suspense. I hope I killed you all with the suspense!**

**Anyway, please review! It's amazing!**


	15. Pent-Up

Alfred was furious. He was beyond furious. For one, his hand was throbbing with the amount of force he put into punching that wall. And, for two, that damn criminal had gotten away. And Alfred still had no idea why. He asked Elizaveta repeatedly, but she refused to say anything, saying it had something to do with that damn secret. Alfred knew he was pretty close to just snapping at the next person he talked to as they walked up to that damn café and walked in. Some stupid bell clanked above them and Alfred could see a small number of people around, as well has his parents at the front counter, talking to the guy Alfred had ran into just the day before without knowing.

"I see you two did not catch him," Francis sighed.

"Oh, we caught him," Alfred growled, glaring at Elizaveta. He was still cradling his hand close to him, not sure if it was broken or just sore, but he didn't care that much right now. "We just had to let him go."

"I told you, you do not know the whole story yet," Elizaveta let out a sigh. "Besides, I know Gilbert. He wouldn't tell you where Matthew was if we caught him."

"That is very true," Carriedo let out a sigh, nodding slowly.

"Bloody hell, Alfred, what happened to your hand?" Arthur immediately moved to examine the hand but Alfred just rolled his eyes and moved his hand away.

"What, so now you freaking care?" Alfred snapped.

"Alfred, just calm down," Arthur rolled his eyes at him. "And then perhaps act like an adult. This is hard for all of us-"

"Really?" Alfred snapped. "Says the guy that hardly even notices Mattie! You forget he's in the same room as you sometimes, and sometimes you don't even remember his name!"

"That was one time-"

"And when the hell are you even around anyway?" Alfred cut him off. He could feel bad about this later, but he really needed some way to let out this pent up anger he had boiling inside him. "You're around for maybe an hour, eat dinner, and then say you're too tired to do anything! I'm the only person who actually has the time or apparently the attention span to notice Matthew when he's around because even Francis is busy all the time. The only reason you're noticing him now is because something bad is happening to him! And even now you're keeping freaking secrets from me! If I'm supposed to be helping you and 'acting like an adult' maybe I should be treated like one first and given the whole story. So I can actually do something useful rather than walk right past the guy we're supposed to be looking for and not knowing it."

It was quiet for a while and Alfred immediately felt like a load was lifted off of his chest. Just a second after that, however, Alfred felt horrible. Half of that wasn't even what he was mad about, it just slipped out. He knew Arthur was busy, that was why he wasn't around. He was tired all of the time, that's why he never really noticed the soft-spoken Matthew. And Alfred was trying to make the secret not bother him, he really was. But it was just times like this when he wished he was in the loop.

"I bet you're glad you finally got that off of your chest," Arthur muttered quietly before walking past Alfred and out the door.

"Shit…" Alfred muttered and turned around. "Wait, Dad, I'm sorry."

"Alfred," Francis placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "He knows you did not mean what you said. Just give him some time, this is very stressful on all of us."

"I'm such an idiot," Alfred groaned. He noticed that the few other people in the café had gone quiet as well before they swiftly delved into some other conversation he couldn't understand. Alfred tried to run his hand through his hair forgetting that it was his injured hand and swiftly recoiling.

"Hey, if you guys want, I can close early," Carriedo sighed. "We can go to my apartment and get that hand checked out."

"Are you going to tell us anything about Beilschmidt?" Elizaveta asked.

"What is there to tell?" Antonio shrugged. "He came by to say hello and he left. He does seem to be taking care of your brother very well." The man locked eyes with Alfred as he said that.

"When you saw me yesterday," Alfred paused for a second, "why were you protecting him?"

"He is mi amigo," Antonio shrugged. "I would do anything and everything I can to protect him."

"Even though he's a criminal?" Alfred asked.

"He was a criminal the day I met him," Antonio shrugged, walking away from the counter. "So was I."

With that, he simply turned to his customers, apologizing and slowly getting them out of the café. He remained happy, despite what he had said and how serious he should have been after something like that.

"Do not worry about that hand," Antonio smiled back at him as he held the door open for the last of the customers and then Elizaveta, Francis, and Alfred to leave through. "Francis and I can look it over for you. I'm sure it isn't broken."

"Thanks," Alfred muttered, nodding as he looked over at Arthur, who was simply leaning against a nearby brick wall and staring down the opposite side of the street. Alfred let out a sigh, biting his lip, as he followed Antonio. Arthur followed from the back, staying quiet.

* * *

"Why do you enjoy hopping buildings so much?" Matthew laughed slightly through his panting as he slumped onto the roof they were currently on.

"It's awesome," Gilbert stretched his arms over his head happily, staring over the tops of the building, something Matthew still refused to do.

"Yeah, maybe for someone who isn't afraid of heights," Matthew muttered.

"Let's try this thing again," Gilbert offered, slumping down next to Matthew. "The sun is setting on this freaking awesome day in Barcelona and you need to acknowledge it properly. Just look out and you'll see just what you've been missing."

"I'm not missing anything," Matthew shrugged. "I've seen plenty of sunsets before."

"Not like this, Birdie," Gilbert chuckled, shaking his head. "Just do me this one favor and look up? It only has to be for a second, I swear."

"Why is this such a big deal for you?" Matthew asked, looking over at Gilbert, who smiled back at him.

"Why is it a big deal for you?" Gilbert asked with a shrug, looking back at the city. It was funny how the light from the setting sun made him look tanner, though it just made his skin pigment look like that of a normal person.

"I dunno," Matthew shrugged simply. "I just really don't like heights."

"And you're willing to leap across buildings with a complete stranger?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"I'm still not looking," Matthew rolled his eyes and turned to look at the ground beneath him.

"Just do me a favor and just look at the sun?" Gilbert asked. "I'm sure that's no different from when you look at it from the ground."

"Nope," Matthew shook his head.

"What if I try to get to that weird curl again?" Gilbert shrugged and Matthew blushed slightly. "I'll count to three and if you don't look up, you're giving me full license to pull that curl."

"No, I'm not!" Matthew argued. "Just because you say it doesn't mean it's true!"

"Just look out at the freaking sunset!" Gilbert pouted.

"When did you turn into such a sap?" Matthew smirked.

"Don't even start," Gilbert snapped. "I'm trying to make your life more awesome and, trust me, you won't even be scared of heights."

"Why are you so persistent about this?" Matthew asked.

"I already told you!" Gilbert groaned. "It's freaking awesome!"

"You know what, fine," Matthew let out a sigh. "I just don't see why this is such a big deal for you."

"You'll see," Gilbert chimed.

Matthew just rolled his eyes and looked up, over the edge of the building and at the direction of the city that was just beyond it. The sun was beginning to set, the last of the clouds slowly disappearing as the lights of the city just began to shine brightly. The shadows casted by the sun carefully glided over the buildings, but some of it still remained tan. Matthew couldn't hold back his smile.

"Mon dieu, c'est trés beau…" Matthew muttered in French, hardly noticing the change in language. It was really beautiful. They were at a section of the city that mixed the old buildings, probably several hundred years old, with new ones, even some under construction. He could even see the water from where they stood.

"Told you," Gilbert chimed in a sing-song voice.

"Tais-toi," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand French, Birdie," Gilbert laughed, messing up Matthew's hair.

"What is so entertaining about my hair?" Matthew sighed, swatting his hand away.

"Well, you need a shower, but other than that, it's pretty soft," Gilbert laughed as Matthew glared at him.

"I'm sorry if I'm on the run from the law and I haven't really had a chance to take a proper shower," Matthew scoffed. "Besides, I can tell that you need one a lot more than I do."

"You flatter me," Gilbert laughed, leaning back slightly as he did so.

"I should push you off," Matthew threatened and Gilbert just started to laugh harder.

"Gott, why are you so cute when you're trying to be violent?" Gilbert laughed, falling onto his back.

"It's not supposed to be cute!" Matthew snapped, though he felt a small blush rise to his cheeks. Not a lot of people had called him cute before… "It's supposed to be threatening!"

"Then you're not very good at it!" Gilbert cackled and Matthew rolled his eyes, looking back at the view of the city. Gilbird happily chirped and landed in his hair. "Aw, are you getting all pouty now?"

"I really should push you," Matthew muttered and Gilbert burst into even more laughter. "You are such a child."

"Sure, whatever you say," Gilbert smirked. "You better get some sleep now, just saying. We're gonna get moving pretty early. I wanna get to France as soon as possible."

"France?" Matthew swiftly looked over at the man, who already had his eyes closed. "Didn't we just get here?"

"If you didn't notice, the people chasing me did, too," Gilbert shrugged and Matthew let out a small sigh. He remembered the confrontation from earlier that day. He was hiding on top of a nearby roof, and he was really surprised to see Gilbert so serious…and that he could just simply walk away and the police wouldn't catch him. He was also surprised to see his brother so mad. He'd never seen his brother this mad. "Besides, I get tired of places quickly. France was okay when I went there, so I see no harm in going. This time, I'll have a translator with me, too."

"What makes you so sure I'll be your translator?" Matthew asked.

"Remember what our deal was?" Gilbert smirked. "You do what I say and I make sure you're not bored?"

"I can just easily give you bad directions," Matthew smirked, looking back at the view.

"Aw, you'd never do that to me, Birdie," Gilbert laughed.

"Whatever you say," Matthew shook his head.

* * *

**Look at me, switching it up. Alfred's side had to come first, because of the time skip with Matthew's side and there really wasn't anything else Matthew and Gilbert could do. Alfred, on the other hand, still has some more angst, and some other pent up stuff that we didn't know about until now. Interesting…**

**Also, translations, I'm not sure if I should do them, since the only sentences I have are really basic (since that's all I know), and so I think if you really want to know, you can look it up on your own. There will be one time (in France) where there will be a bit of French dialogue, so I will give translations for that.**

**And I am so sorry about making you guys wait for so long for this one! I know it's only five days, but that's a really long time for me! School is just horrible! Anyway, I'm back on track and will hopefully have a lot of time coming. Next week is the American Thanksgiving, so I'll have practically that whole week of no homework, so I will try to write as much as possible!**

**Anywho, please review! It's totally awesome!**


	16. Impatient

Gilbert slowly opened his eyes. He felt as though he'd slept a fair amount and, when he looked around, it was still pretty dark. Probably two or three in the morning. Perfect. Just a second later, he noticed the position he was in. Both he and Matthew had fallen asleep on their sides, though Gilbert must have slept deeper than he normally did. His arm was slung over Matthew's bodies, and they were very obviously spooning.

Immediately, Gilbert pulled back, his arm retracting as he sat upright. He knew he shouldn't be getting close to anyone, let alone this person, but apparently his subconscious was even trying to get them together. Matthew shivered at the loss of Gilbert's body heat and Gilbert let out a sigh. The kid was adorable, there was no denying that. But did Gilbert really have feelings for him? He wasn't sure. And he wasn't going to give himself the time to figure that out.

"Oi, Birdie," Gilbert swiftly stood up and poked at Matthew with his foot. Maybe he should start by stopping that nickname he gave the kid… Matthew only stirred slightly, muttering something in French and Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Matthew," Gilbert nudged him harder. The sound of Matthew's real name felt weird in his mouth, but he was just going to have to deal with it.

"What?" Matthew grumbled, rolling over, onto his stomach and Gilbert smiled warmly. He quickly shook his head.

"We're moving," Gilbert stated. "Now would be best."

"Why now?" Matthew glanced up at him, his glasses slightly askew. Dammit, why was he making it so hard to not think of him as something cute?

"Because there are people looking for me?" Gilbert offered. "Night is the best time to move and, besides, I gave you some rest, anyway."

"Not fair," Matthew pouted and slowly got up. Gilbert glanced away, looking over the city. If he was right, there was a train that would get them through the border to France, he would just have to find out where that was. He knew they would have to get all the way through France, as much as that would suck. But a train was better than a plane, in his opinion. At least then, he could get off whenever he needed to. If he guessed right, a train from Barcelona to Paris would be about six hours, depending on how fast the train was. That would be a nightmare, but he could get through it. And, after Paris, to get to their next destination, he could just steal some car or even a motorcycle. That would be awesome.

"We're gonna go look for a train," Gilbert said happily, swiftly looking around for the quickest way for them to get off of the roofs and back into the ground.

"To France?" Matthew asked. "Don't you have problems with long travels?"

"Ja," Gilbert nodded simply. "Trains are better than planes. And I would like more breathing room with the police. If we can get out and comfortable somewhere else, that would be awesome. So that's what we're doing."

"Where in France?" Matthew asked curiously, standing up.

"Paris, where the hell else?" Gilbert laughed. "Now, follow me closely behind." With that, he started running, jumping over the small gaps between the buildings.

"Why Paris?" Matthew called after him, running just a bit behind him.

"We can get lost easily in tourist places," Gilbert shrugged. "Big crowds, lots of weird people. And I figured you would like Paris in the first place."

"I guess…" Matthew muttered and Gilbert slowly jogged to a stop at the top of a one-story building, just a few stories shorter than they had started on. He glanced down the side of the building, where there was some sort of small park. Naturally, no one was around, so that made his life a lot easier.

"What, is Paris just boring or something?" Gilbert laughed and Matthew let out a sigh.

"Of course not," Matthew rolled his eyes. "It's just that I lived there for a couple of years already. So I've already seen a lot of it."

"Then I'll give you a whole new perspective," Gilbert winked before jumping down, into some sort of make-shift sandbox. It was kind of a rough landing, but it was soft and he managed it fairly easily. And he knew Matthew could do it as well. "Do you trust me enough to jump?" he called up to Matthew.

"You didn't break anything, did you?" Matthew called back and Gilbert laughed, stepping out of the sandbox and kicking off the sand from his pants.

"I'm way too awesome for that, Birdie," Gilbert smirked, but his smile fell when he realized he had called Matthew by that nickname again.

"Alright…" Matthew muttered and stared down at the box for a short while before he jumped down as well. He was pretty graceful, Gilbert noticed, even when he was falling, and he landed a hell of a lot better than Gilbert had. Matthew stared at the ground for a while, as if making sure everything was okay, before he started laughing.

"Fun, right?" Gilbert asked proudly.

"I guess," Matthew shook his head, but he still smiled, as he stepped out of the box. "So, where do you expect to find this train that will take us to Paris? How long will that take anyway?"

"Six hours is my guess," Gilbert shrugged. "But it's not like any police will be there. Our only problems would be, first, finding the damn place. Then getting past the police that will be checking people to make sure I don't get by again. Then going past the border of France without getting caught because of passports or some shit."

"That's kind of a hard list to get through," Matthew giggled.

"But I'm totally gonna do it," Gilbert boasted. "And awesomely, might I add."

"I have no doubt in my mind."

* * *

Alfred couldn't sleep. His hand still hurt quite a lot, slowly throbbing as the night went on. Apparently, he did break it, but it wasn't bad enough for him to need to go to the hospital. Francis and Antonio had helped bandage him with surprising ease. It was blatantly obvious they'd done something like it before together, but Alfred wasn't going to press. He still felt horrible about snapping at Arthur.

Throughout the day, Antonio went back to work with Francis, and they were both followed by Arthur, who seemed dead-set on not being around Alfred for the time being. Elizaveta stuck around, constantly talking to the police force through the walkie-talkie to keep in touch with the situation. They hadn't found Gilbert or Matthew all day and Alfred was trying to keep himself calm as he paced and lounged around the apartment. By the time the trio that left had come back, it was fairly late in the day. They had been talking, though they were obviously not tense at all.

Antonio and Francis made dinner as Alfred and Elizaveta anxiously waited for there to be news, but none came. Eventually, everyone went to sleep. Arthur and Francis were asleep against the wall on one side of the couch, where Elizaveta was sleeping, and so Alfred took the floor on the other side of the table to the couch. But he couldn't sleep.

He just kept thinking about his brother and his stupid, throbbing hand. He was sure Matthew would be doing anything he could to get free of that jerk and would never rest. Let alone side with the damn guy. Gilbert was probably just messing with Alfred when he was talking about why Matthew wasn't there right now. He probably had that stupid crime ring thing keeping Matthew with him, yeah that was it. Matthew was being held completely against his will.

Just the idea of all the things that could have been happening to his brother made Alfred angry beyond belief. And it didn't help he was already mad at himself for saying what he did to his own dad.

As Alfred turned over on his side to glare at the wall, he tried to take a deep breath and clear his mind. In order to get that criminal, he had to think ahead of him. So far, they'd been so far behind him that he could easily just play with them. Alfred needed to think ahead of him in order to get anywhere with this guy. But Alfred couldn't think like a criminal, he was a hero, after all.

Alfred winced at his hand as he sat upright, deciding to take a breather outside and get some clear thoughts. It was really early in the morning, but as he opened the door, he was greeted with very warm air and darkness. He let out a sigh, carefully closing the door as he looked around casually. There was no one around, save for one or two people who ducked into random alleyways.

After a short while, Alfred found a fire escape stairway that lead up the side of the building Antonio lived in. It was about five stories tall and Alfred decided to go ahead and ascend it. Maybe some time on the roof would help him clear his head. It couldn't hurt, at least.

Once he made it to the top, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked over what he could see of the city. It looked pretty amazing, the moon and all of the lights of the city, as well as what he could see of the stairs, lit up the fairly dark sky. He could hear the water nearby and let out a small sigh. Matthew probably couldn't even take in the scenery with his current situation…

Alfred missed his brother so much, he felt his hands trembling as he thought more about him. If only there were some way he could get him back now, he would never let him go, never let him out of his sight, always keep him safe. Even if it killed him, he was going to find his brother and make that criminal pay for what he was doing.

Just as Alfred was beginning to turn towards the fire escape and return to the apartment, something caught his eye. He glanced over and saw two figures running across the tops of buildings quite a ways away. Even from that distance, though, he could make out the flash of white hair.

"Found you," Alfred smirked happily and loudly and quickly made his way back to Antonio's apartment to wake everyone up.

* * *

**I researched trains from Barcelona to Paris, and they are a thing, this I didn't know. I wasn't sure how their travelling to Paris would work with the Pyrenees being in the way and all that, but it is something that exists. When I looked it up, though, it said that there were a lot of delays and that they weren't sorted out yet. Let's just give it the benefit of the doubt and say that they got all of those kinks worked out for now and the path is as perfect as it can get. Just to make me feel better about myself.**

**And just imagine how Alfred would feel if he knew that he slept in the same spot that Gilbert did… Also, I apologize for the latter half of this chapter, Alfred couldn't really do anything and that side of the story was rather dull with the time skip and such. I promise the next chapter will be better! You have my word!**

**Please review!**


	17. Bad News

"Maple," Matthew panted after they had just barely managed to make it onto the train. He couldn't believe they had actually made it. The doors closed behind him and Gilbert cheered victoriously, earning them quite a few glares from other people. "Gil, just don't."

"You know you love me," Gilbert chimed, messing up Matthew's hair. His own hair was hidden under the beanie once again and he was also wearing Matthew's glasses again. It still wasn't very obvious that they were in Spain, though, so they did not have to worry much about being noticed. No one was looking. "Besides, the way we ducked past those police was awesome!"

"Let's just go sit down," Matthew shook his head and started walking.

"Aw, don't be like that," Gilbert groaned and Matthew could just barely see the little bird in Gilbert's pocket poking it's head out. "You gotta be happy that we made it! And now we're on our way to Paris!"

"I am definitely not looking forward to being next to you on a train for several hours," Matthew sighed, slumping into a seat that he ensured was next to a window. At least he could look at the scenery. Spain and France were both very beautiful, though he hadn't seen much of the countryside in the first place. He was very much looking forward to that.

"I'll be fine," Gilbert said with a wave of his hand and plopped down next to him. "You need to learn to lighten up! Come on!"

"Gil, do you know how much attention you're attracting to us?" Matthew asked and Gilbert groaned, slumping into his seat.

"You're such a party pooper," Gilbert grumbled.

"One that doesn't want us to get caught," Matthew stated, looking back at Gilbert. "I still don't know why I'm helping you."

"I'm just that awesome," Gilbert shrugged. There was a person talking over some loudspeaker to them, but Matthew didn't pay him any attention. "Even strangers that don't know me are just dying to help me whenever they can because I just ooze awesomeness."

"You could really do with an ego check," Matthew rolled his eyes, shaking his head. The person stopped talking and the train jerked before it began moving smoothly. Matthew looked out the window and he could see a woman talking to a couple of guards angrily. She had light brown hair and very pretty green eyes and was holding a frying pan as if it were a weapon.

"So she is here," Gilbert said happily behind him and Matthew glanced back at him.

"Who is that?" he asked curiously. Matthew had never seen anyone like that before, but apparently Gilbert knew her very well.

"You remember yesterday when I asked you to stay on the roofs?" Gilbert asked and Matthew nodded. "I was talking to her. She's basically the big, bad detective that's gone after me for at least… 6 years? Yeah, that sounds right. She's gotten pretty close before and she's the person that's gotten the closest to me. I've been giving her a real treat, having her follow me all around the world."

"Interesting," Matthew muttered as he could barely see the girl turn on her heel and walk away just as the train began to speed up.

"Her name's Elizaveta," Gilbert shrugged. "I decided I might as well look her up if she was going to be going after me. Her husband's a fucking prick."

"That's all you have to say?" Matthew laughed slightly.

"What? He is," Gilbert groaned. "I mean, what kind of name is Roderich? And he composes music!"

"How did you find all of this out?" Matthew asked.

"Facebook," Gilbert shrugged. "You'd be amazed what you can accomplish on there."

"I'll be sure to tell Alfred that a criminal can figure out who he's married to off of Facebook," Matthew laughed, shaking his head.

"It's useful information," Gilbert shrugged. "I could probably figure out all of the chicks you've dated by doing it."

"You really think I've dated somebody?" Matthew raised an eyebrow at him. Usually, Alfred didn't even believe Matthew when he said he was going out on a date. Sure, he wasn't noticed, but that didn't make him invisible! He'd dated quite a few people, though none of it really made the news. Some of them weren't even women.

"Well, you don't live under a rock, kid," Gilbert laughed, poking at Matthew. "Everyone's dated somebody."

"Have you?" Matthew asked.

"Not really," Gilbert sighed, looking down slightly and Matthew knew he touched a bad subject immediately. He tried to open his mouth and say that Gilbert didn't really have to answer, but he stopped him. "I mean, it's not like anyone wants to date a criminal in the first place, right? Despite how awesome I am, it's not like girls are lining up to be with me. I'm too busy for that shit, anyway."

"Alright," Matthew nodded and turned to the window. Already, he could see pretty scenery swiftly race by and he smiled slightly. He definitely wasn't bored.

* * *

"Where, exactly did you see them?" Arthur sighed, looking around the streets surrounding them.

"They were jumping buildings in this direction," Alfred groaned. "I swear, I saw it!"

"The police haven't seen anything," Elizaveta walked up to them, shaking her head. "I looked around the train station, and there was nothing. Are you absolutely sure you saw them?"

"Yes," Alfred nodded.

"How can you be so sure? It was dark and far away," Francis sighed.

"I don't know," Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "The white hair clued me in and I'm really sure I saw that. Plus, call it twin intuition, but I know that was my brother."

"You did miss him once before," Elizaveta stated delicately.

"I was tired," Alfred rolled his eyes. "This time, I was fully awake and I'm way more determined to get my brother back now."

"Well, all we can do now is alert the police in France, especially where that train is going; Paris," Elizaveta sighed. "If they see anything, we'll need to know. For now, we'll have to look around here. Following a lead with Gilbert is hard to come by, believe me. This could take a few days, but we need to stay alert."

"A few days?!" Alfred exclaimed and he noticed Arthur had the same reaction as well. Francis just simply looked distressed. "What the hell do you mean? Is it really that hard to find a freaking albino?"

"This one, yes," Elizaveta nodded. "We won't stop looking, but for now it's all that we can do. Deal with it. He hardly leaves any traces. He just got sloppy in London, that's how I could quickly find him. He must have been excited with this new game, but now he's not making any mistakes."

"I feel like punching another brick wall," Alfred grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alfred, don't injure yourself any further," Arthur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I think we should look about the city ourselves. We could find them if we look hard enough and Elizaveta can always keep us in the loop and tell us if anything has changed."

"Yes, thank you," Elizaveta nodded. "We can still keep in touch with Antonio and see if Gilbert said where he was going before he left."

"Then we should split up for now," Francis stated and Alfred let out a sigh. "We can come together back at our hotel room when it is time for dinner."

"Fine," Alfred muttered. "Let's see if I can get anyone to speak English."

* * *

Gilbert was already getting antsy. He'd been keeping himself calm with just talking to Matthew, but now he'd gone to sleep (with Gilbird cutely nuzzling his hair) and Gilbert had to get up. So, carefully moving Matthew's sleeping head from his shoulder, he got up and went to walk around the train. There was a bathroom and food somewhere, he was sure. So he just had to look around for them. That could keep his mind occupied for a while.

"Hey, excuse me!" a loud voice made Gilbert stop and he could see a man, probably 10 years older than him worm his way past an angry old lady and stop in front of Gilbert. He had really wild brown hair and bright brown eyes. He had small stubble across his chin and a bright smile. He was so enthusiastic, he made Gilbert jump slightly. "You!"

"Uh, ja?" Gilbert asked, slightly wondering if he was actually caught by someone on this train, but he knew he wasn't. Especially by this person, who he could easily figure was a dunce.

"You look so familiar," the man scratched the back of his head and leaned forward, leading to Gilbert leaning back.

"Ja, I've just got one of those awesome faces, I guess," Gilbert shrugged. "Mind if I get past you, I gotta piss."

"Ah, I don't have time for that!" the man smiled, putting a heavy hand on Gilbert's shoulder. "I know you from somewhere, but even if I don't, we should still talk!"

"I'm not exactly talkative," Gilbert lied easily with a shrug before trying to get around the man who stopped him and looked at him more seriously.

"I do know you…"

"I am sure you don't," Gilbert sighed impatiently.

"How's about this?" the man asked happily and Gilbert finally noticed his heavy Italian accent. "Does the name Romulus ring a bell?"

Gilbert froze. He did know that name. How the hell could he forget? He was that guy his dad hated coming around because he was so annoying. But whenever her came over, he was nice and always brought gifts and tried to get Gilbert to play with his grandkids, but Gilbert always said he was too old for them.

"No," Gilbert said quickly, trying to brush past the man, who stopped him with a rough hand on his shoulder.

"Sure it does!" he said brightly, but the hand on Gilbert's shoulder gripped tightly and the albino winced. "And you know what other name sounds familiar? Gilbert…si…."

"Look, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about," Gilbert shook his head and tried to get the hand off, but it stayed there. He never noticed how strong that old man was until now.

"Let's talk, okay?" The man said happily and started walking down the aisle of the train, dragging Gilbert with him by the shoulder. Gilbert glanced back at Matthew, who simply stirred slightly in his uninterrupted sleep.

"I don't know who the hell you are-" Gilbert snapped once Romulus finally let him go in the very back of the car, but he was cut off.

"Why are you lying?" Romulus asked and Gilbert could tell that he wasn't really angry. "I promise, I will not tell the police that I found you."

"Then why the hell are you talking to me?" Gilbert snapped and Romulus paused for a second, as if he was coming to terms with the fact that the six-year-old he had seen all those years ago had changed so much.

"Why did you leave?" Romulus asked carefully.

"I had to, alright?" Gilbert sighed. "Ludwig was in trouble, so I had to."

"And you became a criminal?" Romulus asked.

"I didn't, exactly, have a choice," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "If my vater is still so worried about me, you can tell him I'm just fine."

"Your father…" Romulus paused for a second and his face turned sad for a moment. "Your father is dead, Gilbert."

"What?" Gilbert felt his eyes widen and he stepped back slightly to steady himself as the train turned slightly. "No, no he's not. I would know."

"Well, you know now," Romulus shrugged.

"How?" Gilbert asked, looking at the ground.

"Heart attack," Romulus stated simply. "After you disappeared, he began to worry, though he obviously didn't show it. He and your brother never stopped worrying. I guess it finally got to him."

"Then tell Ludwig to stop fucking worrying," Gilbert snapped before turning around and started back to his seat, next to Matthew. He felt his eyes sting with the promise of tears, but he didn't allow them to fall. He couldn't allow them to fall. He was too awesome for that.

"Well, it was nice to see you again," Romulus called to him. "I promise, I won't tell anyone."

Gilbert just shook his head and quickly made it back to his seat. Matthew twitched slightly. Gilbert tried to breathe heavily to calm himself down. His dad was dead. That was it, he didn't have to cry about it. He wasn't going to cry about it. He'd only known him for six years, after all.

With a shudder, though, Gilbert felt a tear go past his guard and fall down his cheek. Several others followed shortly afterwards.

* * *

**In case you all weren't sure, Romulus is Rome.**

**I felt like something needed to happen in this chapter and then Rome came up. Why not, huh? And now we got to see a little emotional development from Gilbert and a little bit about his past. I've also never written Rome before, so you've gotta tell me how I did on it. I feel like he's someone who knows when to be serious, but then again, he's also the ditsy Rome we all know.**

**Also, for the time being, the search party side will stop for a bit, because there's not a lot they can do while they're clueless. On the bright side, we can focus more on Matthew and Gilbert this way.**

**Anywho, I'm done rambling, so please review!**


	18. Cute Couple

"Seriously, are you okay?"

"Ja, of course I'm fine. I'm awesome."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, that's your problem."

"Why do you keep looking back at him?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Yes, Gilbert, yes you do," Matthew huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he slouched in the chair. For the past three hours, Gilbert had continuously looked back at one man in some seat Matthew couldn't care to remember. It wasn't like the man noticed, constantly flirting with some new girl every ten minutes. On top of all of it, Gilbert was obviously antsy. He bounced his leg, scratched at his neck, looked out the window for long periods of time, gotten up to pace. It was making Matthew antsy, for crying out loud. And then there was the alarming fact that Matthew could see traces of tears on Gilbert's face when he woke up. Gilbert would ever admit to it, though…

"No, Birdie, no I don't," Gilbert said pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How much longer are we on here for?" Matthew asked with a sigh, taking in the French countryside out the window. At least it was pretty, otherwise he would have killed Gilbert about two hours ago.

"Hours," Gilbert grumbled, his fingers twitching on his leg. He glanced at the man again.

"Do you know how easy it is to read you?" Matthew sighed. Gilbird irritably moved into Gilbert's lap to get more sleep. "I can tell you and that guy have…something together! What the hell is it?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, Birdie," Gilbert smiled slightly, messing up Matthew's hair.

"You know what? Give me back my glasses," Matthew held out his hand for Gilbert.

"But then people will probably see my eyes," Gilbert sighed heavily, obviously being over theatrical.

"Yes, because wearing a pair of glasses distracts from your eyes," Matthew rolled his eyes, keeping his hand out.

"Fine, fine," Gilbert put up his hand in surrender before returning the glasses to Matthew. "You're so cranky. Maybe you could use some more sleep."

"Maybe you should just sleep," Matthew offered. "Maybe, then, you might be less antsy."

"I'm alright," Gilbert shrugged. "Sleeping in moving vehicles generally gives me nightmares. It's totally un-awesome. And I am not antsy. What the hell kind of a word is that?"

"It's blatantly obvious, Gilbert," Matthew shook his head. "I see you looking at that man, who I don't know how you know. And you keep pacing and bouncing your leg. Yes, you're antsy. Aren't criminals supposed to be hard to read? Isn't that how you don't get caught? You were even antsy the first day I met you, constantly looking out the doors."

"Hey, the cops were after me that time," Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest. "And just because you can read me, doesn't mean other people can."

"Even Alfred could read you," Matthew stated bluntly. Alfred was always famous for being oblivious and unable to read any situation. Matthew was sure, though, that even Alfred could figure out what Gilbert was thinking.

"Maybe it's just because I'm not trying right now," Gilbert shrugged. "Ever thought of that, smart guy?'

"So does that mean you never try?" Matthew dead-panned.

"Excuse me," a man stated suddenly, behind Gilbert, and Matthew noticed that it was the man that Gilbert kept staring at. He had a fairly thick Italian accent. Gilbert immediately whipped his head around to look at the man. "I just have to say, you two make an adorable couple!"

Matthew and Gilbert were quiet for a few moments as the man walked away before one of them finally spoke up.

"No," Matthew shook his head swiftly before looking out the window.

"Like hell, old man!" Gilbert yelled back at him, receiving quite a few scoffs from the women around him.

"Gilbert!" Matthew hissed. "Watch your language. And he doesn't even look old, he looks like he's in his early thirties!"

"Trust me, he's practically fifty," Gilbert muttered, sinking into his seat. Matthew noticed that his face was red.

"Finally!" Gilbert stretched happily in the sun as he stepped off of the train. Gilbird peeped happily in agreement. Matthew giggled behind him. He had to admit, though, being outside was nice. And it was a relief to be rid of that stupid voice over the loudspeaker that was giving them information about whatever they happened to pass by on the way.

"You are such a child," Matthew shook his head as he stretched slightly. Multiple people had random conversations around them as they moved out to explore Paris, some of them even talking in French. Admittedly, it was amazing to be able to hear a language he could recognize and understand.

"I really wanna go visit a costume shop," Gilbert sighed, swiftly disappearing for a short while before returning, shoving a couple euro bills into his pocket.

"Is it just a subconscious need for you to want to pickpocket someone when you enter a new country?" Matthew laughed, shaking his head.

"How the hell else am I gonna get money?" Gilbert asked before he started walking. "Anyway, translator, time for you to get to work. Once we get to a costume shop, we can stop relying on this stupid, fucking beanie."

"I don't know why you don't just dye your hair," Matthew sighed, looking around as they walked down the street. Several cars and people bustled about, half of them obviously American tourists.

"Why the hell would I dye my awesome hair?" Gilbert cackled. "That'd be like you cutting off that damn curl of yours."

"There is no similarity," Matthew shook his head.

"You're getting distracted," Gilbert said pointedly. "Costume shop. Now."

"Relax, it takes a while to find that stuff," Matthew rolled his eyes and looked around at the signs of the shops littered around them. "There aren't any nearby."

"You should ask somebody," Gilbert shrugged.

"Why?" Matthew asked. "We can just walk around a little more and find it eventually without help."

"Gott, I'm impatient, alright?" Gilbert sighed. "Besides, people have already seen me in this disguise, it's way too easy for me to be found."

"But we left everyone in Barcelona," Matthew muttered. "It's not like they followed us."

"Remember how I said that they're not the only ones following me?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Matthew nodded slowly. He didn't like the secrets Gilbert was obviously keeping from him, but he wasn't about to pry about it. Then again, he also wasn't going to just let them keep happening…

"Well, I'm sure they followed me," Gilbert muttered, looking around. "And a new disguise is just what we need, ja?"

"Fine," Matthew sighed and swiftly walked up to a woman, who had just spoken to a group of tourists. It was obvious she was French, so Matthew decided to try his luck. "Excusez-moi, mademoiselle."

"Oui?" the woman asked politely.

"Moi et mon ami sommes perdu. Où puis-je trouver un magasin de déguisement?" Matthew asked fluently, happy to finally speak French after so long of just saying occasional phrases to Francis.

"Um, oui," the woman nodded slowly and Matthew let out a sigh. He knew it was weird to just ask where a costume shop was. "Il y a un magasin à la droite du restaurant dans le coin." She pointed and Matthew nodded.

"Merci beaucoup!" he nodded happily to the woman and walked away and she said something in response.

"French is a fucking sexy language," Gilbert muttered as Matthew walked back to him, leading the poor boy to stop, his face turning red. "What the hell did you say?"

"I asked for directions!" Matthew snapped, walking towards the corner he had been pointed to. "Pervert…"

"Oi," Gilbert laughed, following Matthew closely behind. "I just spoke my mind, relax! Plenty of people think German is a sexy language, which believe me, it is, and I don't care."

"German is so not sexy," Matthew shook his head.

"What?" Gilbert groaned. "Of course it is!"

"Anytime I hear German, it sounds like someone wants to kill me or something," Matthew shrugged.

"You just don't appreciate it," Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest, pouting slightly as they reached the corner and Matthew looked around. Sure enough, he found a store that definitely sold costumes, more like that of the Halloween variety, but it seemed to make Gilbert happy. "Come on!" Gilbert swiftly grabbed onto Matthew's wrist and dragging him into the building, a small bell ringing above them as they entered.

"Bonjour!" a person said happily from the counter on the far side of them.

"Bonjour," Matthew replied back politely before Gilbert dragged him to some rack that held quite a few costumes.

"What do you think?" Gilbert asked, rummaging through some shirts and pants. "I could try to pull of an old man or something."

"At least, then, you wouldn't have to wear a wig," Matthew smirked and Gilbert glared back at him.

"My hair is white, not gray," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "There's a difference."

"We should at least get you color contacts," Matthew sighed, looking around the rest of the shop. There were probably three other people in the shop, two of them talking amongst themselves and the other one simply looking through the small collection of wigs. Around the walls were the costumes, and in the middle there were stations for all kinds of accessories and wigs. "Or something to make you less obvious. Red is practically a dead give-away for you. At least I look semi-normal."

"Hey, I look awesome," Gilbert chimed. "Just because you can't look like me, doesn't mean you have to hate on me."

"Yes, it does," Matthew giggled, moving over to the center to look through what they had. "Hey, we could give you piercings."

"I'm not doing the 'hard-core' look again," Gilbert groaned. "That sucked ass. I could try to be hipster this time."

"Hipster?" Matthew giggled, just trying to imagine Gilbert as a hipster, and started laughing even harder.

"Fuck off," Gilbert muttered. "You need a disguise, too, you know. Maybe you could be punk. That'd be hot."

"You're such a pervert," Matthew shook his head, feeling that damn blush return. Why did it matter so much when Gilbert said things like that? He was just making random comments, so it shouldn't matter…But it did…

"Would you prefer to be a witch?" Gilbert laughed.

"How do your eyes look in color contacts?" Matthew asked, choosing to ignore Gilbert's comment and move on to something else.

"Uh, it looks kinda weird on the edges, but other than that, I think it's fine," Gilbert shrugged. "My eyesight is shit, though, so I can't tell that well with them on."

"You can't see well?" Matthew asked curiously.

"I'm albino," Gilbert shrugged. "We've got naturally shitty eyesight and we burn easily. It's like being ginger, but more awesome."

"Right, that's the word for it," Matthew rolled his eyes before looking through some of the glasses.

"We're also gonna need some place to crash for the night," Gilbert sighed, beginning to look through girl costumes, which put a very bad feeling in the pit of Matthew's stomach.

"Well, I'm tired of sleeping on roofs," Matthew stated.

"That was only two nights," Gilbert sighed. "And they weren't even in a row. You gotta learn to be more flexible, kid."

"I have a place we could stay," Matthew shrugged.

"Where?" Gilbert asked, turning to him and Matthew simply smiled and shrugged.

"You'll see."

**Excusez-moi mademoiselle**- Excuse me, miss.  
**Oui- **Yes (you guys better know this one)  
**Moi et mon ami sommes perdu. Où est un magasin de déguisement?- **Me and my friend are lost. Where is a costume shop? (That last part messed with me because I wasn't quite sure about the translation. If it's wrong, somebody who knows French can feel free to kick my ass)  
**Il y a un magasin à la droite du restaurant dans le coin- **There is a shop to the right of the restaurant at the corner. (It's times like this where I find out just how little French I really know. Again, if I got anything wrong, feel free to tell me!)  
**Merci beaucoup!**- thanks a lot!

**OMG, they're in France now! How wonderful. And we also got some cute, almost coupley, scenes in there that I hope y'all enjoyed. I'm trying to move their relationship realistically, despite people demanding for more cute moments. Don't worry, they do get together in the end, it just takes a little bit of time and a little less distractions. You'll see what I mean eventually.**

**Also! A friendly reader, Jacklette, was totally awesome and pointed out a song that goes really well with this fic! It's called Planetary (GO!) and it's by My Chemical Romance. Even though I'm a fan of My Chem, I've never heard that song, and it was great when I listened to it. I suggest you all take a look, too! I always love learning about new songs! There is another song I have in mind that goes really well with this song as well, and it will become a title to a chapter eventually! Probably when they're in Belgium (whoops, was that a spoiler?)**

**Anywho! Please review!**

**(EDIT 11-27-13. I corrected the two long sentences about where the shop was in French. Thanks to Konoha-11-are-cool and Stadakona for helping me out!)**


	19. Too Late

Gilbert stood in front of the house, staring at it as Matthew continued ahead of him, walking right up to the door.

"You're shitting me, right?" Gilbert asked bluntly. The house was huge, no doubt paid for by Kirkland. It was in the middle of the suburbs, obviously, and far enough away from Paris to not be hindered by the traffic, but to still see it. It looked like it was two stories, but there was also probably a basement, and was wider than any house Gilbert had seen. He usually tried to stay away from the "rich kid" neighborhoods, though. It looked way too big to just house two people, but that was apparently all it did. If Matthew didn't hold parties here every now and then, Gilbert would be disappointed.

"It's not like we used the whole house," Matthew rolled his eyes as he walked up and pulled a key out from under the welcome mat.

"You leave a key under the mat?" Gilbert smirked, swiftly jogging to Matthew.

"Nobody really expects it," Matthew shrugged, shoving the key into the slot and unlocking the door.

"Please tell me you've had a party here," Gilbert laughed as the door swung open, revealing a large entryway with granite floors. Gilbert half expect a butler to greet them. Matthew simply returned to key to it's original spot, kicked off his shoes like he was home, and shut the door.

"I'm not, exactly, the type," Matthew shrugged. "That's more Alfred's speed. Besides, by the time we were old enough to have actual parties, we were in England. I'm sure Alfred's thrown plenty of parties when all of us are gone."

"What a lame brother," Gilbert tisked, shaking his head. "I mean, if I had a party, I would totally invite everyone I knew, including a brother."

"I am sure you would," Matthew laughed and Gilbird swiftly flew over to Matthew's hair. Gilbert was still holding the bag, holding their soon-to-be disguises for when they left the house to keep moving.

As Gilbert walked further into the mansion, the more impressed he got. There was a chandelier that looked like it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars suspended from the ceiling and, as he moved into the kitchen, he could see that even more money was spent elsewhere. The kitchen looked like a place for professional cooks to work, but he wouldn't expect any less from Francis. He couldn't hold back his whistle as they walked into the family room and he saw a theater-like screen as well as a couple of very large sofas.

"This whole place was from Arthur," Matthew muttered. "Papa never told me why, but he gave us this whole place before I even knew that he was my other adoptive father. Apparently, Papa never even wanted this big of a place, but Arthur insisted."

"Ever notice how you call Francis your Papa, but you don't even bother calling Arthur your dad?" Gilbert asked nonchalantly as he walked past Matthew to peek into the pristine, porcelain bathroom and let out a low whistle.

"Alfred does the same thing," Matthew shrugged simply. "I'm gonna go see what food we might still have here."

"How often do you even come over here?" Gilbert asked, walking out of the bathroom with his hands in his pockets. It occurred to him that, considering the Kirkland Company's riches, this was probably the small house. Damn rich kids…

"Um, not a lot," Matthew sighed as he started rifling through the cabinets and Gilbert leaned against a wall in the kitchen, watching as he opened empty cabinet after empty cabinet. "Whenever Arthur isn't busy and we decide to go on some vacation, Paris only comes up sometimes and Alfred never really likes the idea. He likes going places where he can understand what people are saying. But it's really stupid because he could have learned French, Francis tried teaching both of us, but Alfred's just an idiot, apparently."

"That's a lot of information you just gave a total stranger, Birdie," Gilbert laughed and Matthew bumped his head on a cabinet he was looking into.

"Uh…y-yeah," Matthew muttered before going to a door that opened into a massive walk-in pantry. There seemed to be a few small boxes in the far end and Matthew disappeared into the room before walking out, holding one box. "So, we've got some crackers…"

"Just what every growing boy needs," Gilbert rolled his eyes and, in a random decision, pulled out Matthew's phone, powering it on.

"Are you texting Alfred again?" Matthew blinked and it was adorable, but Gilbert didn't allow himself to admire it as he looked down at the screen as the device powered up.

"I'm bored," Gilbert shrugged. "Might as well mess with him a little."

"You know that's dangerous," Matthew sighed. "That could get us caught."

"Last I checked, you shouldn't even be saying 'us'," Gilbert smirked happily as Matthew's home screen popped into view and he started typing a message. It wasn't going to give anything away, just tease them a little. They probably had no idea where they were in the first place.

"Well, I've been holding up my end of the deal," Matthew sighed. "So you better hold up yours."

"I don't even have to fucking try to hold up my end," Gilbert cackled. "You've already been to two countries, one of them you've never seen before. And you got to see a sunset from the top of a building! Just wait until you see what I have planned for Belgium!"

"Belgium?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't think I'd just stop at two counties, did you?" Gilbert smirked, flipping the phone in his hand after he sent the message. He wanted to see if they would try to reply with anything. Naturally, he wouldn't answer anything, especially a call, but it would be entertaining to see. "Anyway, might as well go get something to eat. Maybe even tour Paris a little. Care to change?"

"You can take the bathroom," Matthew sighed and Gilbert tossed him the bag. He immediately opened it and pulled out the parts of his costume. "I'm taking my own room upstairs."

"I can't imagine what a bedroom looks like in this fucking place," Gilbert laughed as Matthew threw him the bag back and they went their separate ways.

* * *

"I feel stupid," Matthew sighed as he calmly made his way down the stairs.

"I am sure you look fine, kid," Gilbert sighed, careful to try to avoid the nickname he'd given Matthew, but it just felt weird not to say it… He shouldn't even be getting attached to the boy in the first place, so why was he? "At least you're not as un-awesome as me."

"You're the one that said we had to be inconspicuous," Matthew sighed, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and Gilbert started laughing. He couldn't hold it back, it was just entertaining. They had decided to make Matthew the hipster, giving him a scarf, the glasses, a fedora, dress jacket, jeans, and some Doctor Who shirt. He looked kind of cute under it, but Matthew did not look very happy.

Gilbert, however, was clad in a dull, brown wig, brown contacts, red long-sleeve shirt, jeans, white tennis shoes…and that was it. It was so boring and lame, but it hid Gilbert fairly well, much to his chagrin.

"Don't laugh!" Matthew threw the fedora at Gilbert, who easily caught it.

"Of course you look great, Birdie," Gilbert smirked and internally cursed himself for using that damn nickname. He walked over to Matthew and easily placed the hat on top of his head. "Now, are you ready to go see Paris like an obnoxious tourist?"

"I already look American," Matthew sighed, looking down at himself before smirking. "I could always teach you some mispronounced French to get people really mad at you."

"Awesome," Gilbert smirked, Gilbird happily resting on his shoulder.

* * *

"If they are out of the country, we should make sure that the jet has made its preparations ahead of time," Arthur sighed. "Just in case we need to leave on short notice."

"How are we going to be able to tell?" Alfred let out a groan, leaning heavily on the table they were around in the hotel room they had gotten.

"Elizaveta is on the case," Francis nodded slowly. "I am sure she will be able to find something for us to go off of. We just have to give her time."

"And what if time is all Beilschmidt needs to do something bad to Mattie?" Alfred asked and both of his parents were silent.

"We just have to hope for the best, now don't we, Alfred?" Arthur sighed heavily after a short while of silence. He still hadn't looked Alfred in the eye all day, and it was beginning to grow irritating. "I say we simply wait until we get news, we won't be doing much good running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

"That's not good enough for me," Alfred rolled his eyes. "I can't just-" he stopped when he felt his phone vibrate. Only one person would text him at a time like this. Immediately, he pulled out his phone and looked at the text.

"That is strange," Francis muttered, pulling out his own phone and Arthur did the same with a confused look. "It is from Matthew."

"I got a message from him as well," Arthur muttered.

"Mine says 'Too late'," Alfred reported.

"Moi, aussi," Francis nodded.

"Too late for what?" Arthur muttered.

"Good news!" Elizaveta chimed as she flew open the door and the three men looked over to her. "Don't tell me all of you are getting texts now."

"Looks like it," Alfred muttered, shaking his head. "It says 'Too late'."

"That's because we are too late," Elizaveta stated happily as she skipped to the table and slapped a few pictures she had in her hand onto it. There were several pictures of a man in a beanie and…

"Mattie," Alfred muttered, leaning close to the pictures to get a better look at them.

"I decided to get a better look at the videos from the train station," Elizaveta smiled. "I got to the security cameras and I found them. You are welcome!"

"Where was that train going again?" Francis asked.

"Paris," Elizaveta winked.

"Gilbert took a train to Paris?" Francis asked.

"He probably wanted to get out of here quickly," Elizaveta shrugged. "I'm surprised, too, that's quite a few hours. But now we've got him and that means we've got a trail!"

"Then we should start moving now," Arthur stated and started walking towards the room he and Francis were sharing.

"It may take a few hours for the jet to be prepared," Francis sighed and Elizaveta nodded.

"Then I'll go make preparations!" Elizaveta chimed, skipping out.

"Guess that means I'm getting her bags," Alfred sighed as he started up the stairs. He quickly got his own things together, shoving it all into the suitcase, and made sure that he still had Matthew's stuff kept safe. He then carefully put Elizaveta's stuff in order, eager to ensure he did not touch the girly things, before he quickly started down the stairs. He looked around and found that Arthur and Francis weren't around yet.

He set the bags next to the door before making his way to the room that his parents shared and was about to knock on the door before he stopped himself. They were talking, but he couldn't really tell what about yet, but they were obviously talking in rushed whispers.

Alfred quietly pressed his ear against the wood of the door and tried hard to listen. Maybe now he could find out something about that stupid secret.

"It doesn't matter!" Arthur whispered. "I swear to God, Francis, if any harm comes to that boy, I will not go easy on your…'friend'!"

"Friend?" Alfred muttered.

"Nothing bad will happen to Mathieu," Francis sighed. "Trust me."

"How can I when the lad is in some other bloody country with someone you only knew for two years?" Arthur hissed.

"I would have trusted him with my life after two hours," Francis scoffed. "I would trust Gilbert with anything, including my own son."

"I only hope you are right," Arthur sighed and Alfred could hear footsteps so he quickly backed up and calmly started pacing near the table.

"You two finally ready to go?" Alfred stretched as they walked out of the room.

"Yes, I believe we are," Arthur sighed, walking past Alfred and towards the door.

Alfred scowled as they both walked past him. What the hell was that damn secret?

* * *

**Alrighty! So, now we got a small reveal for the secret, but it wasn't anything too big. I promise, though, the secret will be revealed fairly soon (about time, huh?) **

**Also, I got more songs to describe this fic, from AcadianAdventure. "The End" by Black Veil Brides and "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence and "I wanna be Free" by Panic! At The Disco. Once again, I've liked these bands before (Black Veil Brides not quite as much as Evanescence and Panic! At The Disco) but I've never heard the songs… They're great! You should really listen to them!**

**And a few French speakers, Konoha-11-are-cool and Stadakona, helped me with translations in the last chapter! Luckily, I didn't fail too badly and it was an easy fix! Thanks you two!**

**Anywho, that's it! Please review!**


	20. Moments

"Gilbert, you know I don't like heights," Matthew crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. The sun was already beginning to go down and there were already couples littered around them, ready to watch the sunset from the Eifel Tower, where they were now. It was rather obnoxious. Matthew always tried avoiding places like this when he lived in Paris. Sure, he could admire it, but he didn't want to be a tourist…

"You need to learn to get over your fears, B-kid," Gilbert let out a sigh at the end and turned around, leaning on the railing of the tower and looking at the city.

"I thought you liked that nickname you made for me," Matthew smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm over the nickname," Gilbert shrugged simply, not looking at him.

"You know, we should really be getting back to the house," Matthew stated. They would have to walk, and it was getting late. He didn't want to walk around at night if he didn't have to. They had gotten something to eat at some random restaurant, Gilbert flawlessly getting away with running away before paying the bill. Matthew was sure it would be the same for them the next time they got something to eat.

"In a bit, relax," Gilbert stretched happily. "I'm gonna get you over your little fear of heights eventually."

"It's not exactly a fear," Matthew rolled his eyes. "I just don't like heights is all."

"That's pretty much the same as having a fear," Gilbert stated, turning around and leaning against the railing again, this time facing Matthew. "It's not like you're gonna fall or anything. There's actually a railing and everything. And you managed to get up here with no problem, so that means you don't really care."

"Whatever," Matthew scoffed and looked around them. The amount of couples was obnoxious, they were all so close and more than half of them were making out, missing the sunset they came to see. He did envy their closeness, though. There was an obvious difference between Paris and Barcelona, the main being that it was colder. He was already shivering, despite the layers he was wearing. Eventually, he waked towards Gilbert, getting at least a little heat from being slightly close to him.

"See? It's not that hard," Gilbert smirked.

"Don't get all high and mighty now," Matthew rolled his eyes and looked over at the sunset. No one could deny that Paris was beautiful, especially at a time like this. It was nice to be able to just sit and relax like this. Matthew couldn't even tell that he was with a world-renowned criminal anymore, it was almost like a vacation now…a very fast-paced vacation.

"So, since those slowpokes aren't here yet, what would you say to staying in Paris for another day?" Gilbert offered. "Normally, I like to move quickly to get some more breathing room, but Paris is pretty nice. What do you think?"

"As long as I can get a good rest for once, I'm fine with anything," Matthew sighed. "You have no idea how happy I am to be able to sleep in a bed for once."

"I can't think of the last time I slept in a bed," Gilbert mused, shrugging. "You've got a spare bedroom, right?"

"Have you seen the size of that house?" Matthew laughed. "We have, like, six."

"Gut," Gilbert nodded. "I definitely don't want to sleep in your dads' bed." Even though his tone was light-hearted, and he smirked, Matthew noticed that Gilbert's expression darkened slightly at the end of that sentence before he looked back out to the setting sun. He turned around, putting both of his hands on the railing as he stared with a mostly vacant expression.

"You okay?" Matthew asked and Gilbert smirked slightly, shaking his head. But the smirk fell quickly.

"I'm fine," Gilbert muttered, looking down. He let out a heavy sigh before muttering something Matthew could have sworn he barely heard. "Fuck…my father is dead and I wasn't even around to see it…"

They were both quiet for a short while as Matthew tried to process what he had barely heard. Quite a few questions popped into his head. How did Gilbert even find out? Why was he trusting Matthew with something like that?

"I-I'm sorry," Matthew finally stated. He couldn't imagine losing either of his fathers, let alone not being there to see it.

"Don't worry about it," Gilbert said quickly, his demeanor quickly returning to the way it was before. "I just had to get that out of my system."

"Why would you-"

"So, what do you think we should do tomorrow?" Gilbert asked suddenly, cutting Matthew off. "I'm not very big on French history so I don't know anything about the shit in this city. I'm cool with anything but that weird triangle museum place."

"You mean the Louvre?" Matthew asked, still a little cautious. Why did Gilbert change the subject so quickly if he brought up something like that? He seemed really torn up about it, too. Was that what he was crying about on the train?

"I don't care what it's called," Gilbert shrugged. "It's boring, that's all that matters."

"How about we just walk around?" Matthew asked simply, looking Gilbert over to see if he was really completely over what had happened to his father.

"Sounds fine," Gilbert shrugged. "Boring, but fine. Maybe we'll find something cool. Hey, I heard that they've got a sewer museum. What if we check that out?"

"Sure," Matthew nodded.

"Great, now let's get back to that house," Gilbert swiftly began walking away, just as the sun was beginning to set. Matthew let out a sigh, shaking his head. He didn't understand Gilbert, but he figured that that was right where Gilbert wanted him to be.

* * *

"Why do you have Matthew's bear?" Arthur asked as Alfred walked past the couch he and Francis were on to get from where they had stored their bags to the table Elizaveta was sitting at. Alfred glanced down at Kumajirou and shrugged.

"I figured that, when we get him back, he'll want him," Alfred muttered.

"Yes, and that is very sweet of you," Arthur nodded. "Though I was wondering why you have it with you now."

"I miss him, so sue me," Alfred shrugged before sitting down on the chair. So now his father was talking to him, that was nice. He didn't really understand why, though… He couldn't help but hug the damn bear and he noticed that it was really soft. No wonder Matthew liked it so much.

"Okay, so we know they're gonna be in Paris," Elizaveta said with a small smile on her face as she looked down at the several items she had laid out on the table that were meant to help find Gilbert. There was a map and quite a few documents that Alfred couldn't understand and she swiftly rifled through them. "He's been here before, so that puts us at a disadvantage, since he'll know the city. Luckily, though, we don't have to worry about not understanding anyone since we have Francis."

"I also know French, I hope you know," Arthur sighed, crossing his arms over his chest proudly.

"Oui, but we do need to work on your pronunciation," Francis smirked and Arthur glared at him.

"Perhaps we should work on the way you speak English," Arthur stated.

"You wound me, mon cher," Francis dramatically placed a hand on his heart.

"Anyway," Elizaveta chuckled, turning back to her work that Alfred paid attention to as much as he could. He had to save his brother and that meant knowing as much as he could…Except for that damn secret, of course… "I have no idea where he'll be hiding out. I know we can stay at the house Francis owns in Paris, so we won't have a problem with accommodations. I also highly doubt that they'll be on the move any time soon. Gilbert thinks he's safe now because he thinks we're still looking for him in Barcelona. As long as we keep ourselves quiet, we should find him."

"Yet, he seems to be able to stay two steps ahead of us, no matter what we do," Arthur sighed.

"If we at least act like we're ahead of him, I don't see what we could lose," Alfred shrugged. "The more confident we are, the more likely we are to catch the cocky bastard."

"This is the closest I have gotten to him," Elizaveta muttered. "A part of me is telling me that he's only letting us get this close because he wants us to."

"Then we let him think that while we keep getting closer until he has nowhere to go," Alfred shrugged. "Simple."

"I wish it were that simple," Elizaveta shook her head. "I've been after him for 6 years and if this is the closest I've gotten, that tells you something, right?"

"The difference this time is that you've got us," Alfred stated. "I'm sure we'll stop him and get my brother back."

"Elizaveta," Arthur cleared his throat and stood up. He glanced at Francis, who nodded simply. "Would you mind going to the back room for a moment? We need to have a talk with Alfred."

"Sure," Elizaveta nodded before standing up and swiftly going to the back room, which held a bed, if Alfred remembered correctly.

"Okay, am I in trouble or something?" Alfred asked nervously. Usually, his parents never wanted to talk to him unless he was in trouble, but he highly doubted that he was actually in trouble right now.

"Non, Alfred," Francis chuckled, shaking his head and remained seated, though Arthur remained standing. "There is something we need to talk to you about."

"We have decided that it would be best for us to tell you now," Arthur sighed. "We can tell how much it is bothering you that we are keeping a secret from you and Matthew. We were planning to wait to tell you both together, but under the current circumstances…"

"Wait, you're really going to tell me?" Alfred asked, standing up from his seat. "I was starting to think that I'd have to go all spy on you and figure it out the hard way."

"I would wish you the best of luck for that," Francis smiled wistfully. "I think you should sit down, mon fils." Alfred nodded and obeyed and Arthur swiftly sat down, making himself comfortable as if he knew that it would take a while to get the story across. "It started when I was fifteen…"

* * *

**I almost feel bad for leaving it there…but at the same time, I don't. On the bright side, you all will get to know all about their little secret in the next chapter! I'm sorry this chapter is so short! I'll make up for it next chapter, I swear! In the meantime, you got some Gilbert feels and a bit of a PruCan moment!**

**Don't kill me for the cliffhanger, and please review!**


	21. Exposed

Matthew sat on the couch, not quite sure what to do. Gilbert had found some random movie he decided he wanted to watch, some animated movie Matthew didn't pay attention to, and they were watching it in the family room. Gilbert seemed to find it entertaining how everything in the house worked, even though Matthew was used to it. The massive screen and the loud sound system seemed to keep the man happy.

But Matthew couldn't help but think. Gilbert was obviously keeping quite a few secrets from him and Matthew could just tell that Gilbert wanted to keep him in the dark. Matthew wasn't going to let it keep up like this for too much longer.

Once a quiet part in the movie came along, Matthew decided to ask at least one question.

"So, you and Antonio were talking about a Francis," Matthew stated and he saw Gilbert give him a worried glance. "Were you talking about my papa?"

"Nein," Gilbert shrugged and continued watching the movie. Matthew let out a sigh.

"How about telling me something about how you and Antonio and this Francis met?" Matthew tried.

"Not really in the mood now, kid," Gilbert stated and Matthew let out a sigh, picking up the remote and pressing pause.

"Look, I know you're keeping secrets from me," Matthew sighed. "And I'm not entirely happy about it. If you don't tell me…something now I might just stop going with you right now."

"Trust me, Birdie, you don't want to know anything," Gilbert sighed and reached for the remote, which Matthew kept easily out of his reach.

"Who do you keep talking about when you say that not just the police are after you?" Matthew asked and Gilbert glared at him before reaching for the remote again. Matthew simply stood up from the couch and held the remote behind his back. "I play this game with Alfred all the time. I can beat someone taller and stronger than me."

"I'm not Alfred, Birdie," Gilbert stated, standing up. "Just let me watch Lion King and we can just go to bed."

"Nope," Matthew shook his head. So that was the movie they were watching…Why would Gilbert choose Lion King, of all movies?

"I'm not telling you anything," Gilbert stated. "You better get over it."

"I should know who else is following us," Matthew stated. "I should know about something that potentially involves my own father!"

"Francis was barely there in the first place, it's not like it matters," Gilbert sighed and Matthew bit his lip.

"You already told me about your father," Matthew stated. "Maybe you just have to…get it out of your system like you did last time. It's not like I'm gonna be mad at you."

"Out of my system?" Gilbert scoffed. "My vater is one thing, I only knew him for a couple of years. This is a bigger fucking deal."

"A bigger deal than the death of a family member?" Matthew asked.

"You're not gonna let us move past this, are you?" Gilbert huffed.

"Nope," Matthew shook his head.

"Fine," Gilbert stated. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Now, sit down, you're gonna be here for a while."

Matthew nodded and did as he was told. Gilbert stood still for a while, as if thinking through what he was about to say. Matthew rationalized that he wasn't going to regret forcing this. He knew that Gilbert was keeping secrets and he very much disliked the feeling of being put into the dark. Especially if it was something this important to Gilbert.

"I was six," Gilbert finally spoke and slumped onto the couch next to Matthew. This was definitely not the story Matthew was thinking he would hear, "playing at some playground with my four-year old bruder. I wanted to be cool and bring him to the park without our parents. I didn't tell them we had left. We gained the attention of a few older kids; they were all at least thirteen. When I was helping Ludwig down the slide, they picked him up.

"I tried to be tough and say something along the lines of 'Hey, let him go or I'll kick your butt.' But it came out more like one of your whimpers. They started laughing and started messing with Ludwig. He was just four, and so he started crying at the littlest things. I tried kicking at one of the guys and they just started laughing. And then I pushed the one holding Ludwig so hard that he actually fell over. Ludwig dropped to the ground and I immediately went over to make sure he was okay. He was crying, but he was fine.

"That was when their…I guess you could consider him a leader. That's when their leader stepped out. He was a lot older than them, at least twenty, I think. He's a fucking creep, goes by the name Ivan, but I never learned his last name. The second I saw him, I nearly shit my pants. Even though it was summer, he was wearing a thick coat with a scarf that looked good enough to at least make him sweat. But he didn't look uncomfortable, he just smiled creepily at us. He had white hair and purple eyes. And I thought I looked weird.

"I started running, pulling Ludwig behind me. I was going as fast as my little legs could carry me, but they caught up with us. I pissed them off and now they were out to get us. I was pinned down with my arms behind my back and Ludwig was pinned as well. He was sobbing at this point, nearly at hysterics. I felt a knife on the belt of the guy that was holding me down and I was able to actually get it into my grip. I pushed it into his side and he yelled out, releasing his grip on me.

"I scrambled over to Ludwig and somehow got him out of their grips as well. We started running again, but Ivan picked me up by my hair and put a knife to my neck. On the bright side, I was able to watch my bruder scramble away, running in the direction of home. Ivan was not happy with me and he started to take me away. I started crying, I was freaking out so bad."

Matthew blinked. He would have never expected this. But it seemed like Gilbert wasn't even close to done yet. Maybe he _was_ just getting it out of his system…

"Once I got to their hideout, which was basically an abandoned subway rail, Ivan just dropped me in some corner and went off to deal with some business or some shit. While I was a sobbing mess, these two older kids came to comfort me. One of them was Francis, yes, your dad, and the other one was Antonio. Franny was 16 at the time and Toni was 11. They felt pretty bad for me and tried to calm me down, convince me I would be fine and I would make it out of there alive.

"A little later, Ivan came back, making Franny and Toni leave. He said he was going to get revenge for the guy I had stabbed. So he stabbed me in the leg. It wasn't extremely deep and I got over it in a couple of months, but I was six. And it was the most painful thing I'd ever had to go through. Ivan made me bleed for a good ten minutes before he let Franny and Toni come back. I thought I was gonna fucking die, but they said I was going to be fine.

"Franny started stitching me up and I was about ready to pass out. They didn't have anything to numb me up and so I was screaming my head off. Toni was holding me down, making sure that I didn't fuck anything up too badly. There's a reason they became my closest friends.

"Antonio kept telling me, 'You're awesome, just breathe through it.' Everything motivational those tow told me started with 'You're awesome.'

"Right after Franny was finished stitching me up, I heard that Ivan was planning to go off looking for my brother, for no other reason than to spite me. Even though I just basically went through surgery, I ran to stop him. I promised I would stay a part of Ivan's gang, or whatever the hell that was, and I would do whatever he said. He just couldn't go after Ludwig. To prove myself, he told me to rob a store, get them all some money.

"That was some day…I was just six and I'd been kidnapped, stabbed, had stitches, and I robbed a gas station with a pistol in my hands. I would do anything for my bruder. Ivan seemed impressed with what I could do and actually agreed to what I wanted.

"And so I stayed. Franny got away when he was 18, and so did Toni. I was alone, stuck as Ivan's fucking errand boy or whatever the hell he wanted me to do. He would always say that he could always go after Ludwig if I ever said I didn't want to do anything. And I just responded with an 'I'm awesome. I can do this.'

"When I turned 18, I agreed to a solo mission. No one was around to watch me and, by then, we'd moved to Belgium, so we were far enough away from Germany, home, for me to feel comfortable with leaving Ivan. So I pickpocketed some random guy and I decided to go to Italy. But I knew that there was no way I could do anything like get a job. I was that albino kid that was always getting in trouble. I'd shot so many people and robbed so many places and my face had been on camera every time. But I've never been caught.

"That's why I'm just so freaking famous while no one else has to worry. From the beginning, I'd gotten myself on camera. Ivan liked the idea and made me keep doing it, even when I could avoid the camera. I figured that, since I was already sort of famous, I might as well get even more famous."

It was quiet for a while after that, Matthew too stunned to say anything, and Gilbert too deep in thought on what he was going to say next. When he finally spoke, the sound of his voice made Matthew jump slightly.

"So, that's it. My big story. I don't really care what happens to me as long as I'm not caught. And if you've even been curious about why Franny can pick any lock in just a few seconds, now you know."

Matthew was frozen in place, trying to soak in everything he had just learned. He had never expected that this energetic, loud, happy albino to have such a tragic past. When Matthew was six, he was playing around with Alfred in some foster home, allowed to stay as out of the spot light as he pleased. The closest he got to danger was when Alfred tried to use an umbrella to slow down his landing after jumping off the second floor railing.

Meanwhile, Gilbert was risking his life to keep dangerous people away from his brother. Matthew wouldn't be able to deal with stitches with no way to numb the pain as he was now. He was pretty sure not even Alfred could do that. He almost felt bad for asking for Gilbert's backstory…

"Wow, I had no idea," Matthew muttered, staring into the fire.

"How could ya, Birdie?" Gilbert smirked. "I'm over all of that, though. All that matters to me now is that it's made me awesome and mein bruder is safe."

"If you're having nightmares about it," Matthew glanced back at Gilbert, remembering the plane ride, "then I don't think you're really over it."

"I'm over it enough," Gilbert shrugged. "I'm never gonna see that fucking creep again. And I did some research on Ludwig a little while ago. He's some kind of police officer now. I don't know why, since he skipped two fucking grades, he could be some kind of genius."

"He might be trying to find you," Matthew shrugged.

"Fat chance," Gilbert muttered. "I doubt he even remembers something like that. He was just four. He probably blocked it all out or something."

"You were just six and you remembered going through being stabbed and having stitches in the same day," Matthew stated. "It's not that farfetched that he could remember watching his brother be kidnapped."

"Night, Birdie," Gilbert simply stood up and made his way up the stairs. Matthew sat on the couch, thinking through what he'd been told. So…maybe Gilbert wasn't as much of a child as Matthew thought. There could be plenty of reasons why Gilbert acted the way he did. It could be some sort of mask to hide the fact that he'd been through so much. It could be that he didn't have time to be a kid, being forced to grow up in practically a day, and so now he was acting like one while he could.

A few things Matthew did know now, though, was that there was a dangerous man named Ivan looking for them…

…and that he was going to have to ask his parents why they never told him something this big.

* * *

"It started when I was fifteen," Francis sighed, looking at the floor. "I was randomly picked up while I was walking through Paris, kidnapped because a…gang needed more people. Their leader, Ivan Braginski, told me he would shoot me if I did not do what he said." At this point, Francis looked up. He seemed pretty indifferent about the subject, even though Alfred was already concerned. "At that time, there was only 10 or so people and we were forced to keep moving, I had to leave behind my friends and family. Merci Dieu I knew English, or I would have been very lost.

"We went to Spain next and picked up quite a few people. One of them was Antonie, he was 10 years old but it did not seem like Ivan cared too much. I became close friends with him immediately, despite the fact that he was only a novice in English. We spent our time robbing places and people for money for whatever Ivan wanted to spend it on, and we sometimes got to eat. We moved around Europe, picking up anyone we wanted. No one would have guessed that we were a gang, just random crimes happening in random countries. None of us ever got caught."

Alfred was speechless, trying to take in this information. He would have never guessed that someone like Francis would be a part of a gang, let alone something that almost seemed like a crime ring. How come he'd never heard of an Ivan Braginski before?

"One day, when we were in Germany, Ivan brought back a little kid, no older than six, I would say," Francis continued. "He was so terrified, he was crying, and so Antoine and I decided to make friends, knowing that the boy would most likely be staying there for quite a while. I was surprised when I saw him, I'd never seen an albino before."

Alfred blinked. Was he talking about Gilbert Beilschmidt now? A little, kidnapped six-year-old? No way.

"He began to lighten up around us, but eventually Ivan made us leave, and I saw that he had a knife in his hands," Francis sighed, looking back down again. Alfred was on the edge of his seat. "I still hear that scream in my nightmares. Ivan stabbed him in the leg because the boy had stabbed another person, accidentally puncturing his lung and killing him. I still haven't told him that he killed that man, Gilbert would never forgive himself.

"Ivan let him bleed for 10 minutes before he allowed Antoine and myself to help him. He needed stitches or he would have died. And so I gave them to him, without anything to numb the pain. Antoine held him still and he was somehow able to stay awake through the pain. We were trying to get him to rest, but then we received news that Ivan was going to try to go after Gilbert's brother, just to spite him. And then the boy was on his feet, ready to fight a full-grown man to protect his famille.

"Starting on that day, Gilbert became Ivan's dog. He had to do anything the man asked, or his brother would be in danger. We stayed in Germany for quite some time. When I turned 18, I left. I had to, knowing that I could not be a criminal forever. I could not tell Gilbert, though, since he would be forced to tell Ivan where I had gone. He was only eight and I am sure that he was torn up about it."

Alfred couldn't believe it. That criminal that he'd hated for so long…had to go through something like that. He was pretty much a hero, standing up for his family like that, protecting his own brother just like Alfred was trying to do. And when he was just six, he was that strong… However, Francis still wasn't done with his story.

"After I left, I decided to go to England to at least try to get away from Ivan," Francis continued. "He apparently did not care much for me, allowing me to just simply leave without a care in the world. After three years of being a criminal, however, I could not shake the habit. There was some party filled with rich people and I could not resist." Francis looked up, glancing at Arthur. "While I was trying to steal a woman's necklace, someone who thought I was a girl asked me to dance."

"It is not my fault that your hair makes you look like a woman," Arthur snapped.

"After that, it becomes a love story I am sure you do not want to hear," Francis chuckled. "For a while, all I cared about was the money that the famous Arthur Kirkland had, though he did eventually make me think about more than just money. I do not even think about it much anymore. Especially when you boys came around. We kept this from you because I know you two would trust me a lot less. Arthur broke up with me when he found out, which happened to be the day we were engaged. Though I did slowly gain back his trust…"

It was awkwardly quiet after that, Alfred trying to run through all of this through his head and Francis and Arthur waiting to see what Alfred would say about it. Alfred wasn't even sure what to think. So, one of his dads was a criminal…but he ran away…and changed his ways…more or less. And the guy that kidnapped Matthew was his dad's friend. Then again, Francis had only known Gilbert for two years and a lot could change in all the years Francis was gone.

"Do you know if Gilbert got out of that gang?" Alfred asked and it seemed like neither of his parents had expected that.

"Antoine said that Gilbert had mentioned it," Francis nodded slowly. Alfred was quiet again, thinking things through. So, there was a small chance Gilbert was lying to Antonio and was actually still with that gang. In that case, Matthew could be in some serious trouble. After all, Gilbert was still a criminal. Both Francis and Antonio had stopped being criminals after they left (because it was obvious Antonio and left, too) so why didn't Gilbert? It didn't make sense…

"Alfred, what are you thinking?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"You stopped being a criminal, right?" Alfred asked, looking at Francis, who nodded. "Then I guess I'm cool with it. I mean, all you did was rob a few stores, right?"

"Basically," Francis shrugged.

"Then we're good," Alfred grinned.

"That's it?" Arthur scoffed.

"He took it much better than you did," Francis smirked.

"Sod off," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Are you sure, Alfred? That was a lot to take in."

"Yeah, it was," Alfred nodded, leaning back in his seat. "But it's not like I really have time to freak out or anything. Maybe I'll freak out later, who knows. Right now we've gotta focus on Mattie, right? Gilbert is still a criminal, obviously, so we've still gotta stop him. That's pretty much the bottom line."

The plane began tilting downwards, signaling that the plane was beginning to land. They were in Paris.

"Hey, how much of that did you tell Eliza?" Alfred asked curiously.

"That I was with Gilbert and Antoine in a gang," Francis shrugged. "She did not need to know all of it."

"And she just went with that?" Alfred laughed.

"It seems it was all that she needed," Arthur shrugged and stood up, moving to the back of the plane most likely to get Elizaveta back.

"So, I've got a question," Alfred stated, looking at Francis. "If Gilbert was that Ivan guy's dog…and he ran away, wouldn't that mean that Ivan would want to get him back?"

"Oui," Francis sighed heavily, nodding.

Just what Alfred suspected. No matter which way he looked at it, Ivan would be following Gilbert and Matthew closely behind. Which meant this just got a whole lot more dangerous.

"Bring it," Alfred grinned.

* * *

**Holy plot. I don't even. This took forever, especially the FACE side of it. I know Alfred would be mature enough to probably be freaking out inside on the news, but knowing to keep his cool until this all stopped (which will be a while). And now we've got a whole new character we haven't even seen yet. Sure, I've mentioned Ivan plenty of times before, but he's now a major character…yet no one has seen him. Oooh!**

**Also, I did not know the irony of Gilbert watching Lion King until I was editing this chapter. It was just the first Disney movie that popped into my head at the last minute. Let's see if you can see the irony in it.**

**And thank you Ironsling for being my 200****th**** review! I really wanna see if we can get to three hundred….Hm…**

**Now that you guys all know the big secret (two sides of it, in fact), what do you think about everyone? I'm curious. **

**With that question in mind, please review!**


	22. Miss

Matthew woke up to a very good smell and he smiled slightly, a small memory coming to his head of making pancakes with his Papa. Matthew immediately sat up. He smelled pancakes.

"Gilbert…?" Matthew muttered as he quickly padded down the stairs, despite still being in pajamas he had found in his old dresser. Surprisingly enough, sitting at the table waiting for him was a stack of three pancakes, a simple pad of butter sitting atop them, and a bottle of maple syrup.

"Surprise, Birdie!" Gilbert popped out behind him and lightly pushed Matthew forward, leading to a squeak coming from the boy.

"Maple!" Matthew swiftly turned around. "Did you really have to scare me?!"

"Um, ja," Gilbert nodded, cackling as he walked back into the kitchen. "It's fun."

"Where did you get the stuff to make this?" Matthew asked. They most definitely did not pick up something like that while they were out and about.

"I got up early, as usual," Gilbert chimed. "It's a criminal thing, apparently. And I decided to be awesome and make you pancakes. And I made sure to get the good syrup. Apparently that shit's imported from Canada, looked fucking expensive…"

"Wait, did you steal the stuff to make this?" Matthew asked.

"Well, duh," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I may have money but I'm not gonna spend it on stupid shit like food. Besides, I didn't get caught, obviously. Stealing food is pretty much the easiest thing in the world to do. Hell, even you could do it, if you worked up the guts."

"Stealing is wrong, Gil," Matthew shook his head, but sat down at the table anyway. It was large, able to fit probably 10 people, though they never had more than four in this house at once. Matthew still had no idea why Arthur spent so much on this. Matthew carefully test-tasted the syrup before pouring half of the bottle onto the small stack of pancakes.

"Jesus, need some pancakes to go with that syrup?" Gilbert laughed and Matthew just rolled his eyes, eating his pancakes without a word. He had to wonder at how quickly Gilbert had gotten over what he said last night. Matthew stayed up quite a while after, just thinking about what the man had said. Gilbert didn't seem too bothered by it in the first place and even now seemed like he was trying to forget it. Matthew couldn't help but be paranoid, though, thinking about that Ivan that could be anywhere, ready to pounce.

"Fine, don't talk to me," Gilbert shrugged and placed anything dirty in the kitchen into the dishwasher, including a rag and the uncooked batter.

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked after swallowing a bite of pancakes.

"I am making it look like we were never here," Gilbert said smoothly and Matthew noticed that he had that brown wig and the contacts on the counter. "Do me a favor and change into your disguise as soon as you're done. Don't worry, I'll deal with the dishes."

"Is something up?" Matthew asked.

"Nah, I've got it all covered," Gilbert shrugged simply.

"What's up?" Matthew asked simply, eating a few more pieces of the pancakes.

"Absolutely nothing," Gilbert stated.

Matthew just gave him an odd look as Gilbert said nothing. He could see that Gilbert had taken a shower earlier, the tips of his hair dripping slightly. It made Matthew think that he really should have taken a shower. Something told him, though, that he wouldn't have the time. So, when he finished he simply nodded to Gilbert before going up the stairs. He swiftly changed, brushed his teeth, and returned downstairs.

"You know, it feels nice to not have to use the bathroom by walking into some random store and pretending that you're gonna buy something," Gilbert said off-handedly as Matthew walked into the kitchen. It looked just like it did before, though Matthew knew that Gilbert was just hiding everything in the dishwasher, which was now closed. He was using a pen to write on a notepad, something Matthew couldn't see.

"Yeah, it is," Matthew muttered.

"So, have you given any more thought in what you want to do today?" Gilbert asked.

"No," Matthew shook his head.

"Seriously, just because I'm acting weird doesn't mean you do," Gilbert rolled his eyes, putting on the wig, and Matthew heard a sound outside, it sounded like car doors slamming.

"What was that?" Matthew asked.

"Showtime," Gilbert grinned and, before Matthew could react, he pulled him into the pantry, a firm hand over his mouth. Matthew felt his heart begin to race as Gilbert closed the door, but he had to tell himself that he could…more or less…trust Gilbert.

Just a few seconds later, the door slammed open.

"So, now we get to wait around some more while we wait for them to spot something," a familiar voice groaned and Matthew's eyes widened when he saw Alfred walk into the living room in front of the kitchen through the shades on the doors.

"Alfred that's just how this is going to work," Arthur sighed, stepping in after him. Then came Francis and that girl Gilbert had talked about earlier, Elizaveta.

"Hey, we're in touch with the police force and I'm sure they'll find something," Elizaveta shrugged. "Gilbert likes to be obvious."

Matthew glanced back at Gilbert, who had a wicked grin on his face. It occurred to Matthew that, right then, he could stop all of this. All it would take was for him to kick his foot into the door and make a big enough noise to attract them. But he couldn't. He felt bad, seeing his family, who were obviously worried and looking for him, and he realized he was just running away from them…

"At least we can finally put this house to use again!" Francis chimed, skipping into the kitchen and running his hands across the stove, looking like he was seeing an old friend. "J'ai manqué te…" he whispered affectionately. Matthew rolled his eyes. His papa was always obsessed over the kitchen.

"Quit being creepy with the stove and help me with your bloody bags," Arthur scoffed and Francis laughed, turning towards him.

"Oui, mon cher," Francis chimed and happily moved over to Arthur. It was weird, he was moving around all giddy, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Alfred just rolled his eyes and lifted up his own bag.

"I'll take Mattie's room," Alfred shrugged. "I always hated using that stupid guest room."

"Which means I get the stupid guest room, huh?" Elizaveta giggled.

"There are several 'stupide' guest rooms," Francis shrugged, putting quotation marks around "stupide."

"For God's sake, you're all children," Arthur groaned as they all went up the stairs.

"Nice family you got there," Gilbert smirked, talking quietly as he opened up the door. He finished what he was writing on the note before placing it onto the stove and quickly ducked towards the door. Matthew saw him pull out a small knife from his pocket as he opened the door and ushered Matthew through it, not bothering to close it. Matthew glanced back, contemplating if he should just go back and stop all of this. But just one look back at Gilbert, that mischievous glint in his ruby eyes (he hadn't put in the contacts yet), and Matthew made up his mind. He was staying.

"Hôtel de Ville," Matthew stated as Gilbert knelt down next to the car that Matthew assumed the four had driven there and glanced up at him.

"What?" Gilbert asked.

"I decided where I want to go," Matthew giggled and Gilbert simply smiled before slashing a hole in the tire before moving on to the next one.

"Awesome," Gilbert hummed and Matthew looked up at the sky. It was really early in the morning, which he couldn't believe he hadn't already noticed. There were small, white puffs falling to the ground, though it didn't stick and Matthew laughed. It was snowing. Before long, Gilbert had slashed holes in all four tires before standing up. "Alright, now we run for our fucking lives."

"Why did you wait this long in the first place?" Matthew let out a sigh before following Gilbert as they both sprinted down the road.

"You gotta help direct me back to Paris, Birdie," Gilbert laughed. "Then we'll go to your hotel thingy."

Matthew laughed a little before taking a turn at a corner and Gilbert followed.

* * *

Alfred was confused. The bed in Matthew's room was unmade. It could have just been a blunder on his brother's part if he forgot to make the bed last time he was in the house, but usually his brother was neater than that. He was about to call for Francis and ask when he heard a crash from downstairs followed by an angry growl.

Immediately, Alfred dashed down the stairs to see both of his parents standing in the kitchen, Francis staring into the pantry blankly and Arthur angrily clutching a piece of paper in front of the open dishwasher.

"Uh, what's up, dudes?" Alfred asked cautiously as he walked into the kitchen. He looked into the dishwasher and saw that there were several dirty dishes, rags, and even…pancake batter? "What? Did the maids not clean up their mess?"

"Missed me," Arthur growled and Alfred looked at both of his fathers.

"Uh, what?" Alfred asked.

"Missed me," Arthur rolled his eyes and shoved the paper at Alfred. Scribbled on it was a note that had "missed me" scrawled haphazardly across it. "Gilbert and Matthew were obviously here."

"They were in the pantry," Francis muttered, staring into the thing.

"Are you shitting me?" Alfred groaned, leaning against the counter. "We were that freaking close! Can't we catch a fucking break?!"

"I checked outside," Elizaveta sighed, walking into the kitchen. "The front door was wide open and the car has four slashes in the tires. They're gone."

"So he has stayed ahead of us this whole bloody time," Arthur slammed his hands onto the counter. "He's just playing with us now."

"What about Mattie?" Alfred asked. "If he was with Gilbert, wouldn't he have done something? And why the hell were they here, of all places?"

"Je ne sais pas…" Francis shook his head numbly, still staring into the pantry.

"Well, we know they're here," Elizaveta stated simply. "That's a place to start. They probably went to Paris or something, knowing Gilbert. They're probably doing their best to hide, he might even be in a disguise, which is rare for him…"

"So then we go to Paris?" Alfred asked.

"Right when we get a replacement car," Arthur muttered.

"Come on, do you think they're using a car?" Alfred scoffed. "They're probably running, unless they hid the car in the pantry with them! We can easily just go after them on foot!"

"Be realistic, Alfred," Elizaveta sighed. "If they're running to Paris, they're gonna be tired. We'd have an advantage if we use a car. Besides, he won't be leaving Paris any time soon. I'll get police stationed around the city to look for them."

"And if they're in disguise?" Alfred asked.

"Then we'll just have to hope it's bad, like most of his disguises," Elizaveta shrugged. "Or maybe he's still got that beanie on and Matthew won't look any different."

"I'm seriously gonna have to ask Mattie a ton of questions next time I see him," Alfred shook his head.

"I'll call the car service," Francis muttered, pulling out his cell phone and finally tearing away from the pantry. "Damn German used my stove…"

"Which would you prefer?" Alfred smirked. "That criminal using it or Arthur?"

"Just because I burnt that one thing!" Arthur snapped, hitting Alfred upside the head.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?" Alfred whined.

"Being an arse," Arthur said simply.

"Yeah, well, for the record, it wasn't one thing," Alfred chimed. "There's a reason Francis cooks all the time, Dad!"

"It's almost like you want me to kill you," Arthur snapped and Alfred just laughed, running away quickly.

"You could burn water!" he added as he ran up the stairs and Elizaveta began laughing. Arthur's face was red.

"Don't listen to a word the git says," Arthur crossed his arms over his chest.

"Never let Arthur near a pot," Francis whispered discreetly and Elizaveta laughed harder.

* * *

**J'ai manqué te-**I missed you.  
**Je ne sais pas**- I don't know. (This is a phrase I use a lot in French class…)

**Hehe, FACE family fluff, how cute. I'm just about as bad at cooking as Arthur is, though, so I feel his pain… Anyway, Gilbert knows how to play it close, huh? I have no idea how he knew they were close, that's just how awesome Gilbert is, I guess. Whatever. Next chapter will probably be quite a lot of PruCan fluff, and a lot of FACE as well, fair warning.**

**Oh, and the irony from Lion King last chapter (since some of you got really confused) had something to do with being a criminal and the death of a parent, just to help some people along there.**

**And please review, my lovelies!**


	23. Ice Cold

"How the hell do you consider this fun?" Gilbert grumbled, looking up at Matthew, who was giggling.

"It's fun when you're good at it," Matthew held out his hand for Gilbert.

"And how are you so good at it?" Gilbert asked, taking the hand and allowing him to be lifted back onto the slick ground. Surrounding them were several other people, all of them with skates strapped onto their feet as they skated about on the ice that surrounded them in front of some massive, old, French building. There were obnoxious holiday decorations that Gilbert couldn't ignore anymore and some sort of French music he couldn't understand. Gilbert knew how much of a date this looked like, but he was just trying to ignore that right now.

"I used to play hockey," Matthew laughed, skating backwards with ease once Gilbert was on sort of solid ground.

"I thought you had to be giant to play hockey," Gilbert smirked as he tried to clumsily steady himself. He probably looked like some kind of idiot, but Matthew kept on laughing. It was so adorable, he couldn't just let it stop. He had no idea why he was thinking that way…but what the hell, it wasn't like the kid was getting attached to him. Eventually, they would just go their separate ways and go on with their lives.

"Well, if you're small, you can get past all the guys that think they have to be so big," Matthew laughed as Gilbert stumbled once again, but this time didn't actually land on his ass or face.

"Gott, I feel stupid," Gilbert shook his head. Matthew just laughed and Gilbert had to wonder what was making the kid so happy. For one, they'd ran into his family in that freaking house and barely made it away without getting caught. As calm as Gilbert had been, he was scared shitless. Scared of getting caught…and of Matthew wanting to stay with his family. Gilbert couldn't understand why he was scared of losing Matthew, but he was. It was dangerous, be he was scared.

On top of all of it, just the night before, Gilbert had decided to trust him with his story. He was sure Francis would be pissed off about giving away his secret, but he could deal with it. Gilbert didn't know what it was about Matthew, but he trusted him enough with something like that. He just looked into those freaking blue-violet eyes and knew that he could trust him.

This was getting very, very dangerous.

"You look stupid when you look off into space," Matthew stated, snapping Gilbert out of his thoughts.

"Fuck off," Gilbert said simply and he suddenly lost his footing before tumbling onto the ice, face-first.

"I think that's called karma," Matthew giggled, smoothly standing in front of him without a problem.

"And I think this," Gilbert swiftly cut his leg across Matthew's , leading the boy to fall backwards, onto his back, "is fucking hilarious."

"You shouldn't say that to a person with blades on his feet," Matthew smirked, kicking at Gilbert slightly before he skillfully stood up on his own. "Just for that, I'm not even gonna help you up this time."

"Aw, c'mon Birdie!" Gilbert laughed. "I didn't know you couldn't take a joke!"

"Oh, trust me, I can take a proper joke," Matthew rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've lived with Alfred my whole life, not to mention Francis."

"He doesn't count," Gilbert stated, trying and failing to get to his feet. "He'll tell perverted jokes to a six-year-old."

"True…" Matthew muttered. "But you're still getting up on your own."

"Have I told you that I hate Christmas?" Gilbert asked as he tried once again to get onto his feet.

"Scrooge," Matthew smirked and began to skate in circles around Gilbert.

"Everyone's just obnoxious this time of year," Gilbert sighed, slumping onto the ground for a short while. "It's all fake Christmas cheer and donate to the homeless kids. It's definitely not awesome." Gilbert remembered watching all the little kids in the streets be given these magical boxes from complete strangers that held this awesome toys…and he would get nothing. Because he had to go steal some more money for Ivan. There was also the fact that, if Christmas was close, that meant his birthday was coming close, too. Worst day of the year.

"I used to be homeless, getting those gifts you know," Matthew smirked, skidding to a stop behind Gilbert.

"Yeah, and look at you now," Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure if you asked for a fucking house, you'd get it."

"I'm rich, not spoiled," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right," Gilbert snorted. "Francis raised you. You're spoiled."

"I don't think I like your tone, sir," Matthew laughed.

"It might have something to do with the ice on my ass," Gilbert grumbled. Matthew let out a sigh and smoothly skated in front of him, holding out a hand.

"If you're just gonna be grumpy, I might as well help you out," Matthew smiled and Gilbert let out a sigh, shaking his head. This kid was going to be the death of him, he could just tell. He gripped onto Matthew's hand and he stood up. Matthew slid back a little bit, but easily stopped himself from going too far.

"Thanks," Gilbert nodded to him.

"I could always help you skate, if you want," Matthew hummed, skating around to Gilbert's other side.

"Nah, I'm way too awesome for that," Gilbert said proudly.

"Then, uh, how about you try moving?" Matthew giggled behind him and Gilbert rolled his eyes. Matthew was just too damn cute… Did he even realize how fucking cute he was?

"How about you shut up and let me focus?" Gilbert asked.

"You don't need to focus to skate," Matthew sighed, gliding forward, in front of Gilbert. "You just do it. It's like walking."

"Next time you come up with an idea for us to do, we're doing something else," Gilbert stated.

"Scrooge," Matthew smirked.

Gilbert just sighed and tried to move his right foot forward. Until he quickly lost his balance and landed right on his ass. He could barely hear Matthew's laughter over his pained groaning.

This kid really was going to be the death of him…

"Matthew?"

* * *

"They could be anywhere," Arthur let out an irritated huff, leaning against the wall. "And all of this bloody cold isn't helping anything."

"Yeah, I hate the cold, too," Alfred grumbled, looking up at the snow falling on them. A cold breeze went by and Alfred was glad that he had his bomber jacket on He couldn't help but wonder if Matthew was cold…

"Perhaps we should look on the bright side," Francis chimed, looking around at the lights decorating the city happily. "We should relax and have fun, non?"

"Did you happen to forget about our missing son?" Arthur scoffed.

"Listen, mon cher," Francis chuckled. "From what I can tell, Gilbert still acts like a child. A child would look around and think of this as the perfect time to have fun. Maybe that is how we could catch them."

"Have fun?" Arthur asked, asking the question as if he believed Francis was insane.

"You have no idea how much I would kill to just be able to have fun," Alfred smirked. "Maybe we could go ice skating!"

"Alfred!" Arthur snapped. "Do you realize how foolish this idea is?"

"Do you realize how annoying it is to be serious all the time?" Alfred rolled his eyes. "No wonder you broke up with Francis just because he told you the story."

"Hm, you should try to be more like your son, oui?" Francis laughed.

"So help me, I'm trying to be serious about this," Arthur stated.

"That's where you're going wrong!" Alfred smiled brightly. "Hey! We should check out that sewer museum I've heard about!"

"I think we should try ice skating instead," Francis nodded his head with a smile.

"I am not going along with this," Arthur stated, looking down the street. "You two can have fun playing your games, but I am going to try to actually find Martin."

"Matthew, Dad," Alfred corrected just as Arthur was about to take a step. He was used to correcting Arthur on Matthew's name. Whenever he was tired or overworked, he always got Matthew's name wrong. It wasn't like Matthew cared, he was too nice, but Alfred always made sure he corrected him.

"Bloody hell…" Arthur shook his head, hitting his head into his hand as he walked away.

"Do not mind him," Francis sighed. "He has not been sleeping well, so he is a bit cranky."

"Is that any different from usual?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Sadly, non," Francis shook his head and turned to walk in the opposite direction. Alfred followed him close behind. "It is such a shame, he looks so beautiful when he is smiling."

"I haven't seen Dad smile for a while," Alfred scoffed.

"Just give him time," Francis smiled softly. "Maybe once we get Matthew back, he will relax."

"Maybe," Alfred shrugged and his eyes widened when he saw them come up to a fairly big skating rink, several couples skating around back and forth. "Dude! It's been forever since I went ice skating! Damn, if only Mattie where here! I suck ass, but he always helps me!"

"Then let us see how you are on your own," Francis smiled.

Alfred smirked happily and nodded. Before long, he was on the ice with Francis, stumbling to keep himself upright and not fall over like half of the other people. He forgot how slippery ice was and laughed as he saw Francis struggling as well. It was too bad Arthur was being such a fuddy-duddy…

Alfred glanced over at a few others and noticed that there were two boys, one of them obviously failing at staying upright and the other obviously staying well on his feet. He was even skilled enough to just glide around him in circles. Alfred smirked to himself. They were obviously some gay couple.

"Do not interrupt other people's love by staring," Francis chided and Alfred laughed.

"Oh, come on, they're being so obvious about it!" Alfred laughed, looking back. "Even though they don't really look like they're a couple…" Looking closer, Alfred could see that one of them was obviously hipster while the other one looked really dull. Come to think of it, the hipster's hair looked really familiar… "Wait a second…"

"Hm?" Francis asked, slowly and clumsily skating beside Alfred. "Did you find something interesting?"

"Yeah…" Alfred muttered and stumbled across the ice, towards the two. They were laughing, obviously being a couple, while the one with dull, brown hair fell once again. "Matthew?"

Immediately, the two looked over at him, and the hipster that looked more and more like Matthew every minute looked away shortly after.

"Uh…" the guy on the ground muttered. "Who…Mathieu…?" the guy spoke in very broken English with a thick French accent and the hipster gave him a short, odd look.

"Aw, nothing, you just look like my brother, is all," Alfred muttered, looking the kid who was standing up one final look before he turned around, back to Francis.

"Who were they?" Francis asked casually.

"I thought I saw someone who looked like Mattie," Alfred muttered. "But they hardly even knew English. And no way in hell would that guy that kept falling be Gilbert."

"I would not be so sure," Francis muttered, looking past Alfred. He glanced back and saw the two just reaching the end of the rink and throwing off their skates. They started running.

"Shit!" Alfred cursed and tried to follow them close behind. He quickly stumbled, though, and skidded on his face onto the ice, letting out a groan.

"Oui, merci," Francis nodded, gliding up to Alfred calmly, talking onto his cell phone. When Alfred glanced back at the two, he could see police lights flashing and he could hear the sirens. "Fairly sure...Then we will see you soon." He hung up the phone, storing it back into his pocket. He held out a hand for Alfred to take. "I called Eliza and she has men on it now. I can call Arthur once we get off of this rink."

"Yeah," Alfred muttered and took the hand. He shakily returned to his feet. "Guess he was wrong, huh? Fun definitely is the way to go."

"Oui," Francis chuckled and they both turned to go to solid ground.

* * *

**Oh, my God, filler chapter! Sure there was a little thing with Arthur, but other than that…ALL FILLER! Sorry, but perhaps plot will happen next chapter… Anyway, FACE fluff and PruCan fluff, all at once, anybody got a cavity from how sweet it was?**

**Also, I am terribly sorry at how long this took. It's one week to finals and school really felt like kicking my ass to the point where free time was non-existent. Soon, though, I will have all the free time I want and everything will be back on track! Promise!**

**Oh, and I mean no offense to anyone that likes Christmas. I love generic Hallmark holidays as much as the next American teenager, trust me, but Gilbert obviously thinks otherwise. (BTW, I looked up his birthday and I was really happy when I found out that it was for the Kingdom of Prussia, which totally fits, if you ask me. Sorry, huge history buff, but aren't all Hetalia fans history buffs?)**

**And, to Fire Bomb, I'm fairly sure that I'm not a Killjoy…especially considering the fact that I had to look up what one was…**

**Oh, and to AcadianAdventure, sadly I do not have a Tumblr, it's sad but I just don't have the time for it. I know I'll get addicted too quickly…**

**Wow, I'm rambling way too much, this is what happens when I'm up too late watching Ouran High School Host Club… Maybe I should get to sleep now.**

**Please review!**


	24. Coincidence

"How are you so good at a French accent?" Matthew panted as they rounded yet another corner. He glanced over at Gilbert, who was smiling widely as he ran, seeming to only just be starting to feel fatigue after all of this running.

"It just kind of came out," Gilbert laughed. "I didn't even expect it. You learn to do things on the fly, Birdie."

"You're hopeless," Matthew shook his head and followed Gilbert around another corner where they stopped, catching their breath as they leaned against some wall. Matthew couldn't help but notice that Gilbert was using the nickname again, even though just the day before, he'd been trying not to use it. Maybe it had something to do with the night before…

"Nah, I'm awesome," Gilbert smirked.

"I can't get over seeing you with brown eyes," Matthew snickered and Gilbert let out a groan.

"You should be scared of getting caught, newbie," Gilbert nudged him with an elbow. "Or are you just used to it by now? Wouldn't surprise me."

"Somehow, I think I am getting used to running away," Matthew laughed. It wasn't even weird now how he was getting used to running away from his own family. Around Gilbert, thinks were hardly ever weird.

Gilbert chuckled, panting for a short while and looking in the opposite direction. "There'll be police crawling everywhere soon. They're probably looking for these disguises, too. We could ditch them."

"Or maybe just mine," Matthew stated. "You just look like some normal guy on the street."

"And do you know how un-awesome that is?" Gilbert groaned. "As soon as we get to Belgium, I'm taking this shit off…"

"Why are you so against disguising yourself?" Matthew asked. "You're really noticeable without a disguise."

"Why the hell would I want to cover my own awesomeness?" Gilbert smirked, glancing back at him before looking back down the street. "That's a crime worse than anything else I've done."

"Sure, a crime," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Oi, you wouldn't be laughing at me if…" Gilbert froze for a little bit and Matthew looked back at him. "Shit! Run!"

Immediately, Gilbert put an iron grip on Matthew's wrist and they started running. Matthew could only blink and run with him, hardly able to keep up with him. He was panting heavily by the time they turned around their fifth corner. Matthew braved a glance back, but he didn't see anyone.

"Fuck…" Gilbert cursed under his breath, frantically looking around as he raced through a group of tourists. "Fuck!"

Matthew felt the man begin to shake and he felt scared for the first time since the night he was kidnapped. Gilbert had no idea what to do and Matthew could tell that this was not the police. This was probably Ivan. Matthew yanked on Gilbert's arm when they were in the middle of some massive crowd, allowing them to walk with them. He recognized where they were.

"Gilbert, calm down!" Matthew snapped and Gilbert looked back at him with…terrified eyes.

"Birdie, you don't understand," Gilbert growled, frantically looking around, as if Ivan could pop out at any moment. He probably would. "You can't even begin to fucking understand!"

"You're standing out," Matthew pressed, pulling on Gilbert's arm more to get his attention back. "If you want to lose him, you need to get lost in the crowd. This is the perfect place to do that."

Just then, they had followed the crowd into a small, underground passageway.

"This is not helping!" Gilbert snapped and Matthew let out a sigh.

"Trust me and blend in," Matthew pressed and Gilbert glanced around before taking a deep breath and relaxing just slightly. "Good enough."

"What the hell is your bright plan?" Gilbert sighed impatiently, glancing around discreetly, without moving his head.

"We're on our way to the Arc de Triumph," Matthew stated. "We can hide in the crowd, alright? With the way you're dressed, it'll be easy."

"It's not that easy," Gilbert grumbled.

"Just humor me," Matthew sighed.

"How the hell did I let him get so close?" Gilbert muttered. "I'm so fucking _stupid_!"

"Gilbert, it's fine, we got away," Matthew sighed. "For now…"

"You could've gotten hurt!" Gilbert snapped and Matthew blinked, shutting up. "That creep is capable of so many horrible things and if he got his hands on you, I'd never be able to forgive myself…"

Matthew simply nodded. This man stabbed a six-year-old in the leg and let him bleed. Now that his "errand boy" had decided to run away, who knew what he would do if he got his hands on them…

"We'll be okay, don't worry," Matthew muttered, sticking his hands into his pockets as they emerged from the tunnel and back into the snow with several other tourists. They both stayed quiet as they followed the flow of tourists. Gilbert constantly looked around, very much on edge, but nothing happened. No one came up to them and everything was just calm and normal.

"Why the hell did he stop following?" Gilbert muttered.

"Maybe it has something to do with the police around us?" Matthew shrugged.

"We're getting out of this country as soon as possible," Gilbert sighed and looked over at the busy, dangerous road that surrounded the Arc de Triumph.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of-"

"Too late to talk me out of it," Gilbert grew a wicked smirk, signaling that he had officially calmed down. That was definitely not a good thing.

"I am not-"

"Hell yeah you are!" Gilbert grabbed onto Matthew's wrist before he could get away and started running onto the street.

Immediately, cars honked and Matthew felt his heart beat race in his ears as they nearly got ran into several times in all directions. Gilbert simply cackled as he kept running, obviously uncaring about the fact that he was nearly causing multiple car wrecks. Matthew still felt his heart beat racing as they stumbled to a stop at the other end of the street. Multiple people were yelling and cursing at them in French.

"You," Matthew panted. "Are. Insane."

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert laughed. "Gott! That was freaking amazing!"

"We almost died," Matthew muttered.

"We were in more danger when we were running away from the police," Gilbert scoffed. "Now, let's keep going. I wanna make Belgium as soon as possible!"

And they were running once again. Matthew let out a gaspy sigh as he followed Gilbert close behind. Before long, they were back to full speed and easily making their way along the street. They didn't make it very far, though, before someone grabbed onto Matthew's arm and roughly yanked him out of Gilbert's grip. Matthew gasped and froze in fear. Was this Ivan kidnapping him to get to Gilbert? Matthew nearly hyperventilated until he looked back.

And saw a police officer.

* * *

Arthur was sulking. Not that he would admit it, but he was definitely sulking. He had been trying to search for Matthew and Gilbert for quite some time and had come up with nothing. The cold was turning his nose red and he stared at it with his arms crossed over his chest as he sat at some park bench. He was dressed warmly, naturally, considering how bloody cold it was this time of year. There were hundreds of tourists walking around in front of him, as well as quite a few natives, all of them holding hands and chatting in either French or God-awful English that was obviously from America.

Arthur let out a small huff and half expected to see his own breath. It was very faint and he assumed that it just wasn't that cold yet. He couldn't help but feel bad for Matthew. Lord knew how much he and Gilbert would be out in the cold. At least they had been inside the night before…

Before Arthur could stop it, he yawned and felt his eye-lids get heavy, almost too heavy for him to keep up. He had hardly been sleeping the past couple of days with everything that had been going on. He was surprised Alfred was getting enough sleep, considering it was his own twin. Those two had known each other for years and years, far more than Arthur or Francis knew them. When they were alone at that foster home, they faced everything together. Arthur was sure that the longest they had been apart were the weeks at a time when Francis and Arthur had yet to make their relationship public.

Arthur couldn't help but smile at remembering the two kids that he had just happened to run into. He was on some sort of trip for business, talking to partners in New York, and those two kids just ran right past him, causing him to drop the briefcase he was holding, and for one of them to trip, falling right onto his face. Immediately, Arthur had helped the boy up before even thinking about his own things.

Arthur clearly remembered the boy being beautiful, the slightly long wheat hair and the blue-purple eyes that had looked at him in terror, as if he had thought Arthur would hit him for what he did. The other little boy, obviously a twin, seemed like he wanted to beat Arthur up for hurting his brother. Together, they were some of the most adorable kids Arthur had ever met. And once he had figured out that they lived in a foster home, he had called Francis.

Once Arthur had gotten to know the children a little better, he learned that a lot of people actually wanted to adopt them, though none of them wanted both brothers and they had refused to be separated. They almost seemed terrified that Arthur wanted to separate them. Alfred refused to leave Matthew because he was afraid he couldn't take care of himself and Matthew was afraid to leave Alfred because he just knew Alfred would do something stupid and he liked being near him because he got to be noticed every now and then.

Arthur was woken up from his sleep by his phone ringing in his pocket. He jumped, hardly noticing that he'd fallen asleep, before he pulled out his phone and answered it without checking to see who it was.

"Yes?" Arthur asked with a small sigh.

"Jeez, try to sound more excited," Alfred stated on the other end and Arthur rolled his eyes. To think that that adorable kid would have grown up into that, even with Arthur's parenting… At least Matthew had turned out better…and smarter.

"Have you two found anything?" Arthur asked.

"Um…" Alfred sighed and Arthur let out a huff. Of course it was bad news, why else would Alfred call him? "Sorta. You see, Francis and I saw them at this ice skating rink place and then they ran. And so we called the police and they started after them and so did we. But then we lost them, and then Francis saw something that made him bolt and now I'm…kinda lost. I tried asking this one dude for directions, but I'm pretty sure he only spoke Russian, which was really lame, I mean learn English if you're going to a tourist trap, right?"

"Alfred," Arthur sighed before the boy could continue any further. The lad could learn to get a filter once in a while. "I will try to assist you. Where are you? I will go and find you."

"Um…there's nothing that really sticks out that you would know," Alfred muttered. "And everything's in French…"

"This is why it would have been helpful for you to pay attention when Francis was teaching you boys French," Arthur scoffed and stood up, brushing himself off, before he started walking. He didn't notice the person following him.

"But it's so hard!" Alfred whined on the other end.

"There are harder languages to learn, Alfred," Arthur sighed. "Just try to walk around, alright lad? Perhaps you will find something and I will be able to find you."

"Alright, dude," Alfred muttered.

"For the last bloody time," Arthur sighed, though he knew that it wouldn't be the last time, "my name is not 'dude', it's-"

Suddenly, Arthur was jerked into an alleyway, dropping his phone, and a hand was placed over his mouth as he was pushed harshly into a brick wall behind him. He started breathing heavily as his vision cleared from his head hitting the wall. His eyes widened when he saw the man standing in front of him.

He had white hair and dark violet eyes. A long, tan coat and thick scarf that was wrapped tightly around his neck. He was far taller than Arthur and obviously far stronger. A dark aura that Arthur could just feel emanating off of him… This was Ivan Braginski, just like Francis described.

"So you recognize me, da?" the man asked, a child-like smile forming onto his face and Arthur's stomach dropped. What did this criminal want with him? His interest in Francis was all but lost, it seemed. So why the sudden interest now? Did it have something to do with Gilbert and Matthew? "Good, I hate introductions. Then I would have to kill you."

Arthur chose to not say anything, trying to remember anything else Francis had told him. There wasn't much information, since Francis was still completely terrified of the man, and Arthur felt like there was a high chance he could die right there.

"You are looking for Gilbert, da?" Ivan tilted his head slightly to the side and Arthur decided to faintly nod his head. One thing he did know was that Ivan liked having his questions answered. When they weren't…Francis didn't tell him that part. "Then we can make a deal, comrade! I do not care for that boy he has with him. If you happen to catch him first, which is unlikely, I expect to be given Gilbert. If I catch him first, I will drop of Matvey at your door."

Arthur just stared at the man. He knew he didn't have much choice in this deal. The man's giant hands were over his mouth, they could easily move to his neck and end his life…in multiple ways.

"If you do not," Ivan sighed heavily, as if he were acting disappointed, and his grip on Arthur's head tightened significantly, causing Arthur to cry out, though it was muffled by the hand, "then I will be very disappointed in you. I will get Gilbert back eventually, but if I am not aided, I will also take more. Fredka seems like he would make a wonderful edition, da?"

Arthur was still in incredible pain, the grip tightening slowly over time. He tried to focus, however, and tried to deduce who Fredka was as quickly as he could in his head. This man most likely knew everything about Francis' life, considering the stories he had heard. Fredka…fred…Alfred… Arthur's eyes widened at the realization and Ivan smiled brightly, loosening the grip so that Arthur was no longer in severe pain.

"Be sure to pass the message onto my old friend, da?" Ivan asked happily and, before Arthur could think, his head was slammed into the bricks behind him. Everything went black.

* * *

**That plot at the end? I didn't expect it to happen…This whole chapter? I didn't expect it to happen…Oh, well! I got a lot done and I'm pretty happy with it! Ivan finally got some screen time! It's not very positive screen time, but he's got some! And we learned a little of the FACE backstory. There isn't much and it's not very fantastical, but it's freaking cute, right?**

**Anywho…please review! I will be reviewing more this week, since the hellish week before finals is over. Actual finals aren't that bad, especially considering the only one I'm worried about is my very first one tomorrow.**


	25. Unexpected

Matthew had no idea what to do. His mind practically shut down, just looking at the police officer, Gilbert just a few steps away. He knew very well that the right thing would be to go with this man and return to his family, but he knew that what he wanted to do was continue running with Gilbert. He couldn't bring himself to do either option.

"Mathieu Williams, oui?" the policeman asked and Matthew just stuttered, unsure of what to do.

"We have no time for this shit," Gilbert let out a groan and swiftly grabbed hold of Matthew once again, ripping off his wig with his free hand. The policeman had a moment of surprise, where his grip on Matthew loosened and Gilbert started running with him once again.

"You really shouldn't have blown your cover," Matthew shook his head and started running faster with Gilbert as he heard people following them.

"Well, the people I'm really running from already know what I look like," Gilbert stated simply, looking around a street where people were already moving away to give the police more room before running even more quickly in some random direction.

Matthew simply nodded in response, knowing that Gilbert was talking about Ivan. Matthew still hadn't seen the man, but he knew he definitely wanted to keep it that way. Before long, the two reached a couple of men just getting off of their motorcycles and Gilbert wasted no time in running up to them.

"No time to talk," Gilbert said quickly, roughly shoving the (rather dangerous looking) rider off of his own motorcycle and jumped on. "Get on, Birdie, no time."

Without a second thought, Matthew followed Gilbert's lead and, in just a second, they were already moving. People yelled at them in French, but Matthew didn't listen. There were already sirens behind them, but Gilbert just smiled and made them move even faster. Matthew had to hold on for dear life around Gilbert's waist so that he wouldn't fall off. Not that he didn't mind…

The wind rushed through his hair as they swerved around streets littered with people. It was obvious that Gilbert had done something like this before and he even cheered happily as they swerved through some traffic of cars. Matthew just rolled his eyes and kept holding on. He didn't dare look back at the people following them…the people he should be with…

He just stared ahead, at Gilbert and the expanse of road in front of them.

* * *

"Dad?" Alfred asked into the phone. There was some clatter at the other end and Arthur was cut off as he was talking. "Dad? Come on, this isn't funny." Alfred stood still in the silence that followed and a very bad feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. "Dad!" Alfred tried one more time before he hung up and tried to call Francis.

This sucked. He was lost in a country he couldn't really talk to people in and something just happened to his father. And, on top of it, Francis had ran away from…something Alfred hadn't even seen! Luckily, the Frenchman answered his phone.

"Bonjour, Alfred," Francis sighed. "I am sorry I ran."

"Yeah, whatever," Alfred said quickly. "Something happened to Dad. I was just talking to him on the phone and he just stopped talking."

"Where are you?" Francis asked. "We will need to look together."

"Pretty much where you left me, dude," Alfred shrugged.

"Stay there, I will be just a minute," Francis rushed his words and hung up the line. Alfred bit his lip and tried to call Arthur again while he waited for Francis. It rang until he got the voicemail and Alfred let out a groan. What had just happened to his dad?

After a couple of very long minutes, Francis jogged up to him, panting slightly.

"Do you know where he was?" Francis asked.

"No," Alfred shook his head. "I called him to try to get me unlost because you ditched me."

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Francis muttered. "We will have to look around places we would expect him to be at."

"Like a library or something?" Alfred asked.

"Somewhere he would go to try to find Mathieu and Gilbert, mon fils," Francis sighed.

"Uh…" Alfred muttered as they began walking. "I dunno, someplace boring, probably."

"I would think he would try a park," Francis stated. "There are quite a few people there and it seems fairly obvious."

"Great, well, I still have no idea where the hell I am, so I don't know where any parks are," Alfred sighed heavily.

"Luckily, I do," Francis stated and smiled slightly and he waved to a park just a few yards ahead of them. The smile swiftly vanished, though, and Alfred simply nodded. He wasn't in the mood to just joke around, either. His dad could be in trouble. Immediately, Alfred jogged over to the park and frantically looked around, hoping to find Arthur's familiar blonde hair, or maybe even his massive eyebrows, but nothing popped up or grabbed his interest. He looked around everywhere, at all of the benches and under all of the trees.

"This is so annoying," Alfred groaned as Francis walked up to him, also looking around anywhere he could. "He could be anywhere!"

"Oui, je sais," Francis muttered.

"Do you know another park?" Alfred sighed.

"Follow me," Francis sighed, still looking around the park as he continued to walk, onto the sidewalk nearby. They were fairly close to a few buildings and Alfred glanced at them for a few seconds, distracting himself slightly, until his foot hit something. Alfred glanced down, expecting some trash or something, but he found an iPhone with a horribly cracked screen. Alfred raised an eyebrow and knelt down to pick it up and dropped it when he saw the case on the back.

It was the English flag, which was what Arthur had as his own case. Alfred closed his eyes to steady his own breathing. Plenty of people had that case, it was only worth a few euros, after all. And there were tourists everywhere. It was all okay.

Alfred let out another breath to calm himself before he quickly glanced around again and froze when I looked into the nearby alleyway. It was hard to see at first, but after a short while of focusing, Alfred saw it clearly. There was a man passed out in the alley and there was a small puddle of…something dark underneath him.

"Dad!" Alfred shouted, but he heard his voice crack slightly and he stumbled as quickly as he could to get next to Arthur, who didn't move.

"Mon Dieu!" Francis shouted and followed Alfred closely behind.

Alfred carefully picked up his father, making sure to be careful of where he could clearly see blood coming from. Arthur moved lifelessly, but when Alfred pressed his ear against Arthur's chest, he heard a heartbeat. And Arthur was breathing normally, too.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Alfred muttered, glancing around. No one of suspicion was in sight, except maybe that Russian guy Alfred asked directions for earlier, but he was just minding his own business.

"Check his pockets," Francis muttered, delicately, tracing a hand over Arthur's face and Alfred nodded, handing his father's head to Francis. After quickly checking Arthur's pockets, he found that they were completely empty. Normally, he carried his wallet that had all kinds of cards in it.

"Do you think he was mugged?" Alfred asked, noticing that both of Arthur's shoes were missing.

"I am not sure," Francis shook his head slightly, looking at Arthur with pure worry.

"We gotta get him back to the house," Alfred stated, pulling out his phone. "I'll call the car. At least there, we can give him first-aid or something. That thing on his head looks kinda bad."

"Oui," Francis nodded slowly and Alfred dialed the number. He didn't like being an obnoxious rich kid that could call "the car" at any time he wanted, but this was an emergency. His dad could have been seriously injured or something. He handed the phone to Francis to give their location and then hung up.

"It'll be here in a few minutes," Alfred stated. "We have to get him to the street."

"You will have to carry him," Francis sighed. "I am not strong enough, I know that."

"Yeah, sure," Alfred nodded and carefully picked up his dad, making sure to avoid hitting the back of his head against anything. He made sure not to jostle him too much, either, but Arthur didn't move, completely passed out. As they walked out of the alleyway and Alfred ignored the strange looks the people around them were giving him, Francis picked up Arthur's dropped phone and they started towards the street.

Many people bustled around, but they easily ignored them. Alfred was too worried about who could have possibly done this to his own father. It wasn't Gilbert, he was apparently on the other side of freaking Paris right now, and Matthew would have never allowed it. Maybe it was that Ivan Braginski guy that Francis had talked about. Alfred had never been told what he looked like, but he assumed that he looked like some big Russian guy with a thick, black beard and black hair. He was probably huge, too, and smelled like vodka.

After waiting for a little while longer, the car pulled up and Alfred carefully placed Arthur in the backseat. Francis sat with him back there, to make sure he didn't move much, and Alfred sat in the passenger seat. As the rest of the city zoomed by around him, Alfred tried to think about something other than his dad. The only other thought that came to mind was Matthew. Like what he could possibly be going through right now. Elizaveta said it was likely that they would change countries again. But…they couldn't just leave the country to follow them with Arthur the way he was now.

Before Alfred knew it, they arrived at the house and he helped move his dad inside, carefully setting him down on the couch. Francis went to get bandages.

"Should I call Eliza?" Alfred asked. "Tell her what happened?"

"Oui," Francis muttered as he swiftly returned and pulled out some gauze from the kit. He carefully touched Arthur's head as Alfred pulled out his phone to start calling the woman, but he froze when he heard Arthur groan slightly. "Arthur?"

"Francis?" Arthur muttered quietly and Alfred rushed over to his side.

"Dad, are you okay? What the hell happened?" Alfred demanded and Arthur obviously winced.

"You're so bloody loud," Arthur muttered. "It was Ivan."

"Why would he attack you?" Francis asked and Alfred saw him obviously begin to shake, his hands gripping the gauze tighter.

"He didn't…" Arthur muttered, "…attack me. He wanted to make a deal."

"A deal that involved smashing your head?" Alfred snapped and Arthur winced again. Francis gave him a swift glare before looking back at his partner.

"If we find them, we give him Gilbert," Arthur sighed. "If he finds them, he'll give us Matthew."

"And why the hell would we do that?" Alfred asked, trying to make sure he lowered the volume of his voice.

"You…" Arthur muttered, looking right at Alfred.

"Me?" Alfred asked, heavily confused. Francis just let out a shaky breath, nodding.

"He will take you if we do not comply with what he wants," Francis muttered.

"And what makes him think I'll go with him?" Alfred snapped. "It's not like I'm just gonna let myself get taken into some kind of crime ring and become his monkey!"

"If he can get Gilbert to be his dog for who knows how long," Francis sighed, "he can make you be his monkey."

"No fucking way in hell," Alfred growled.

"How bad is my head?" Arthur sighed, still sounding really weak.

"It was bleeding when we found you, though it seems to have stopped," Francis noted. "You most likely have a concussion."

"That sounds right," Arthur nodded slightly before looking back at Alfred. "Be careful, lad. Please."

"Don't sound like you're about to die," Alfred muttered. "It's just a concussion…"

"Yes, but my head hurts more than when I'm bloody hungover," Arthur smirked slightly.

"Call Eliza," Francis stated and began to wrap the gauze around Arthur's head.

Alfred sighed as he looked back down at his phone. There was no way in hell that anyone could get him to do what they wanted. Alfred was a hero, he couldn't just be under the control of the main villain! That was bullshit. He was going to make sure that that stupid Ivan didn't get what he wanted.

* * *

**Oui, je sais-** Yes, I know.

**Alfred has too much irony. Yes, the Russian man he talked to was Ivan. I don't know why he gets all of the irony, but it just makes sense because he was never told what Ivan looks like, he's pretty much the only one. It's okay, though, he makes up for it by being an awesome brother and son. Oh, and Gilbert and Matthew are going places now. They're pretty much leaving everyone else in the dust while they stay to deal with what just happened.**

**Anywho, please review! It's awesome!**


	26. Borderline

"Do you even know where we're going?!" Matthew had to shout over the wind and the sound of the numerous cars around them. It looked like they were on some sort of highway, but Matthew couldn't be sure. Gilbert was going too fast for him to read any signs.

"'Course I do, Birdie!" Gilbert chimed, swerving easily around a few cars, barely avoiding hitting the grass on the edge of the road.

"And has it occurred to you that we should be trying to blend in?" Matthew asked.

"Blending in is for un-awesome people!" Gilbert cackled. "Besides, isn't this more fun?"

"I feel like we're going to crash any minute," Matthew muttered.

"Didn't we talk about speaking up before?" Gilbert laughed and began going faster at the sight of a small expanse of road with no cars in it. Before long, they were back in traffic, but it didn't seem like Gilbert had slowed down.

"You're going to kill us," Matthew sighed, though it wasn't intended for Gilbert to hear. By now, the adrenaline rush from running from the police who were, most likely, somewhere behind them was gone. Sure, they were going insanely fast and going God-knows where, but Matthew felt perfectly safe. Gilbert would never let anything hurt him. He was sure that, even if they did crash, Gilbert would pull out some other miracle and they would both be unscathed.

After a short while, Matthew saw something at the other end of the road. He couldn't see it very clearly, but he could tell what it was. It was a border to another country. Gilbert wasn't even slowing down at the sight, in fact, Matthew saw him even try to speed up even more.

"Are you serious?!" Matthew snapped at him.

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert yelled out happily and narrowly swerved out of the way of some car. Matthew held on a little bit tighter and closed his eyes as they forced through the small crowd of cars. Gilbert just laughed and Matthew heard police sirens closer than before. "Hold on tight, kiddo."

Matthew simply let out a sigh and decided not to look up, knowing that it would make him panic. He had to wonder how much longer they could go on this motorcycle, considering they'd been driving for quite some time. Gilbert probably had full control of the situation. They would be where he wanted to be in no time at all, without any trouble.

They swerved around quite a lot and Matthew felt himself hold on even tighter, if that was even possible. Gilbert didn't seem to understand the idea of slowing down as he cheered happily before the motorcycle left the ground. Matthew opened his eyes wide as he saw them actually driving over the top of a police car.

"Gilbert!" Matthew screamed at him. "Are you crazy!"

"Yes!" Gilbert laughed and obviously barely kept control of the bike as it hit the ground once again.

Matthew grumbled in French to himself as he glanced back and saw multiple police vehicles following them. For some reason, it was becoming a sight that he was used to. He figured Gilbert had gotten used to the feeling rather quickly, especially considering how comfortable he felt around the police, despite everything.

"So, where are we going?" Matthew asked as his heart rate began to slow down.

"I've got a couple of friends here," Gilbert smirked. "They've got this kick-ass club I've been really wanting to go to. It's the perfect place to hide for a while."

"A club?" Matthew asked. He'd never been to one, the closest he'd been to a party were the events that Francis and Arthur brought him to with Alfred. From what he'd seen on TV, though, it was not a place he would enjoy being in.

"Don't worry, Birdie," Gilbert smirked. "I'll protect you from all the bad guys trying to give you roofies."

"I have no doubt…" Matthew muttered. Suddenly, some yellow ball of fluff appeared out of nowhere and landed in Gilbert's hair, somehow managing to stay. "Gilbird?"

"This fucking bird's a superhero, I swear," Gilbert laughed, shaking his head slightly. "I tried to ditch him once and he followed me through three fucking countries."

"How?" Matthew asked.

"Don't ask me," Gilbert shrugged. "I just kinda let it happen. He's an awesome sidekick that will never die."

"No kidding," Matthew muttered, looking at the yellow ball. "He's just as awesome as you."

* * *

"So, how long do you think it'll be before he can move?" Elizaveta asked, pacing slowly in the kitchen as Alfred slumped at the table, still thinking about that freaking Ivan guy. Francis was sitting on the couch, Arthur's sleeping head on his lap. Alfred could see Elizaveta frantically looking at a phone or occasionally turning to a laptop on the counter.

"The doctor said it should be a few days," Francis sighed. They had a doctor come in to look Arthur over and he had left just before Elizaveta came in, yelling about Gilbert and being held back.

"I don't know if we can afford to wait that long," Alfred grumbled. "I'm seriously starting to think that Ivan and Gilbert are working together. He's just giving Gilbert more time."

"Or him more time to catch Gilbert himself," Francis stated. "Even when he was eight, they did not get along well."

"Shit," Elizaveta cursed. "They're in Belgium."

"Seriously?" Alfred groaned, hitting his head against the table.

"If it comes to it, you two could simply go ahead-" Francis started, but Alfred cut him off.

"No way in hell am I leaving my dad like this," Alfred stated.

"And I'll need at least one family member to at least point him out for me," Elizaveta sighed. "If Gilbert's in Belgium, I know exactly where he's going. And that means heavy camouflage which means I won't be able to find him, but I have a chance at finding Matthew. But if we're too late, then it'll get even harder to find him."

"So much for finding him before Christmas…" Alfred grumbled.

"We still have a few days," Francis sighed.

"God, you lot make me sound like a bloody burden," Arthur muttered quietly. "I'm sure I'll be fine if we move."

"No way, you might get hurt even worse," Alfred shook his head, even though he know his father couldn't see it.

"Then you come up with something else," Arthur sighed, slowly sitting up, despite Francis' best efforts at trying to stop him. "We might lose them at this rate, is that what you want?"

"If you're sure," Elizaveta sighed.

"Non, he is not," Francis pressed.

"I am fine," Arthur sighed, slowly glancing back at Francis. "Our son is more important than one bloody head injury."

"Dad! It's your freaking head!" Alfred argued. "You can't just say it's nothing!"

"Says the boy that still ran around like a lunatic after breaking his leg," Arthur sighed. Alfred remembered that, it hurt like a bitch. He didn't even know why he went running around. "I'm fine. Now, we should go as quickly as possible. Where do you think they will be going, Elizaveta?"

"Gilbert has a few friends," Elizaveta explained, typing something into her laptop. "I've met them a couple of times, they're pretty cool. One of them owns a club, The Ice Dragon, and they all usually hang out there, despite some of their personalities. Any time Gilbert goes to Belgium, he goes there. It's in Brussels, and it's really not hard to find. The police have had to evacuate it a couple of times, but people just keep coming."

"You think Gilbert is dragging Mattie to a club?" Alfred blinked. "Mattie's never been to anything like that before!"

"As long as Gilbert is protecting him, which he should be if he's kidnapping him for ransom, then he'll be fine," Elizaveta sighed. "If we can get there quickly, we might be able to catch them at the club."

"That will be fine," Arthur stated before Francis could say anything. "Francis, you should call the pilot."

"I still do not think you should be doing something like this," Francis stated.

"It's my decision," Arthur sighed. "Don't worry, I'll sleep as much as possible and try not to run. I should not stop us from trying to get Matthew back, and so I won't."

"There's really no arguing with you once you've made a decision, huh?" Alfred grumbled.

"Remind you of someone?" Elizaveta smirked before closing her laptop. "I'll go call the police in Brussels."

"I'll get our stuff packed," Alfred stated and quickly ran up the stairs. He still couldn't help but think about Ivan when he was up there. It bothered him that he had never seen him, maybe he should just ask Francis for a description and that way he could tackle the man if he ever saw him. Alfred didn't give a shit who that man was, Alfred was a hero and Ivan was a villain. He was going down.

* * *

**As for crossing the border, I went onto Google Maps, and I went to where I guessed…about…that Gilbert would go to get into Belgium and saw that the border crossing was basically nothing… So I didn't describe it much. If it's inaccurate, I deeply apologize and I will try to change it!**

**Oh, and The Ice Dragon is just a name I came up with on the spot, so if it actually does exist, I did not mean to copyright anything. Knowing my luck, one probably does exist. Can you guys guess who owns it? If you do, I will be fairly surprised, since I came up with this idea on a whim.**

**Christmas is getting so close, in real life and in my story and I'm really hoping to coincide the two dates, so I'll be working really hard on this, which will involve writing a chapter everyday. So you guys can look forward to that! Sorry for this chapter being so short, but I promise that the next one will be longer!**

**Please review! It's wonderful!**


	27. Toxic

"I'm not so sure about this," Matthew muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't be a wuss, Birdie," Gilbert smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was kind of cold, but it was night and pretty far into December, so it wasn't exactly odd. It was pretty funny how nervous Matthew was over just some silly club. It wasn't even that bad of one, Gilbert had been to worse. He figured he might as well say hello to the owner and his friends. They had ditched the motorcycle a while ago and walked the rest of the way. Belgium was always Gilbert's favorite country. The people there seemed to like him more than any other place, hardly any of them even tried to turn him in so, he could waltz through the streets without a disguise. Plus, Ivan wasn't even around yet. This was turning into a pretty good night.

"I'm not being a wuss," Matthew sighed, looking at the ground.

"Relax, nothing's gonna hurt you," Gilbert stated, looking down at the smaller male. "It's just a few drunk and high people."

"Because that helps," Matthew snapped.

"Hey, if I can protect you from Ivan, I can protect you from a few sleazy, drunk bastards," Gilbert said proudly. "Besides, there's some pretty cool guys in there that know me."

"I'm pretty sure everyone here knows you," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"As they should!" Gilbert nodded happily. "I'm freaking awesome! How could they not know me?"

"Well, I didn't even recognize you when we first met," Matthew snorted.

"Doesn't count!" Gilbert said happily. "That was like a disguise without a disguise. As long as you act nonchalant, people don't really notice you."

"I'll take that into consideration," Matthew stated bluntly.

"Now, come on!" Gilbert held onto Matthew's wrist and began to lead him into The Ice Dragon.

"Gilbert!" Matthew snapped. "I don't even want to go into a stupid club!"

"Relax, it'll be fun!" Gilbert chimed, a man in a suit opening the door for them. Immediately, they were greeted with rave lights and a song that could hardly be heard over the bass. Gilbert couldn't hide his smile as they walked under the black light and could see all of the drunk people dancing with each other. It had been a while since he'd had a chance to just relax at a place like this. And considering Ivan was a no-show, he could actually enjoy himself.

"You look funny under black light," Matthew shouted over the music and Gilbert glanced over at him. There was another thing that made that night awesome. His Birdie was right there with him.

"Shut up," Gilbert laughed and glanced around to try to find the bar. It had moved since the last time he'd been there, but it was easy enough to find again. Sure enough, his friends were right there, chatting and mixing drinks. "Come on! Try not to get lost, Birdie!"

Still keeping a good grip on the kid, Gilbert quickly made his way through the crowd. Anyone that recognized him (which was most of the people there) made way for him. Quite a few girls tried to "say hello", which mostly involved shoving their breasts in his face or trying to grind him. But Gilbert easily made his way through to the bar, where the people working there all immediately recognized him, even before he waved to them. Glancing back, he could see that Matthew was still terrified and a little overwhelmed, but Gilbert was sure he knew a way to calm him down at least a little.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mathias, a Dane with spiked up blonde hair and blue eyes, laughed as they walked up.

"Figured I might chill in a friendly place for a little while," Gilbert shrugged, happily slumping onto one of the bar stools. Matthew sat down right next to him, staring at the counter.

"This is Matthew Williams, right?" Tino, a bright blonde with cheerful brown eyes, Finnish, asked, quickly moving to Matthew, which made him jump.

"Yeah," Gilbert laughed. "Who the hell else is awesome enough to tag along with me?"

"So your ego is still bloated," Emil, who had white hair, slightly similar to Gilbert's, and blue eyes. He was from Iceland, Gilbert was told.

"I guess he's changed as much as the stupid Dane," Lukas, a Norwegian with blonde hair and blue eyes rolled his eyes from where he was cleaning a glass.

"Hey!" Mathias whined over to him as he quickly made some random drink for some random patron.

"Want something to drink?" the last man, a terrifying looking Swede with blonde hair and blue eyes, asked Matthew, who in turn squeaked and nearly fell out of his chair. Gilbert laughed even harder.

"Don't worry, Birdie!" Gilbert cackled. "The guy's just as harmless as Tino!" He pointed to the man in question, who looked very confused for a moment.

"Oh, yeah, Berwald's a bit scary at first," Tino smiled warmly at Matthew, who was beginning to look really overwhelmed. Not good… What could Gilbert do to cheer him up?

"Someone has a crush~!" Mathias sang, fairly close to Gilbert's ear, resulting in the man to jump.

"Jesus Christ!" Gilbert snapped. "Don't fucking scare a guy like that. It's definitely not awesome!"

"So you don't deny it?" Mathias laughed happily.

"Are you kidding me?" Gilbert groaned and glanced over to Matthew, who seemed to be striking a conversation with Tino and Berwald alright. As long as he didn't go out of his sight, he should be safe.

"And there he goes again," Mathias smirked and Gilbert glared back at him. "I didn't expect the great Gilbert Beilschmidt to fall prey to a crush!"

"It's not a fucking crush!" Gilbert snapped.

"So you're in denial about it, too, huh?" Emil asked simply, pouring some beer off to the side.

"You know, I didn't come here to be harassed," Gilbert grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Then why did you come?" Mathias laughed.

"To get drunk off his ass," Emil shrugged, sliding a glass of beer towards Gilbert.

"Nah, not this time," Gilbert shook his head. "I've gotta make sure Birdie stays safe."

"And we're back to the crush," Mathias rolled his eyes.

"I kidnapped the kid, alright?" Gilbert sighed. "I have to make sure he doesn't get fucking hurt, alright?"

"Really?" Mathias smirked.

"Jeez, get off my ass already," Gilbert groaned, downing his beer easily. He hadn't had something to drink in a really long time and that buzz in the back of his head was just what he needed.

Before Gilbert even finished, however, two girls came up to him, speaking in rapid German. They leaned close enough so that Gilbert could easily see down their extremely low-cut shirts. One of them pulled on his arm.

"Looks like you're wanted, playboy," Mathias smirked. "I'll watch your Birdie for you."

"Not my Birdie," Gilbert sighed, but stood anyway. It would do him good to just relax and have a little fun. "If anything happens to him by the time I get back, you're fucking dead."

"Yeah, yeah," Mathias rolled his eyes. Gilbert glanced over at Matthew, who saw his situation and laughed, waving at him. Gilbert let out a sigh and followed the girls, who seemed to suddenly multiply into a multitude of girls. He'd almost forgotten about all of those annoying chicks that all wanted to sleep with a criminal. Gilbert wasn't about to complain. Obviously, he looked like he was awesome in bed.

* * *

Gilbert was laughing his ass off. He wasn't quite sure when, but he'd gotten more than enough beers into his system and probably something else, but he wasn't entirely sure. He'd also lost count of the amount of girls that had grinded against him as well as the amount of time that had passed. All that mattered in that moment, though, was that some girl had tripped and fell on her ass. She didn't seem to care, laughing with the rest, and she didn't even seem to care that the entire club could see up her already incredibly short dress.

Gilbert didn't even bother to stop laughing when he felt a tug on his arm and felt some other chick begin to nibble on his ear. This one was a lot better than the others and Gilbert shuddered slightly when he looked over to see her.

He nearly completely sobered when he saw that it wasn't a girl on his arm, but rather Matthew. Immediately, Gilbert pulled back, feeling his face heat up.

"Shit!" Gilbert cursed as he flinched away. "What the hell?" He glanced over to the bar and saw Mathias laughing to the point where he nearly fell over. Lukas just rolled his eyes at him.

"Hey, Gil!" Matthew chimed happily, obviously completely drunk to the point where he couldn't stand. He was leaning almost all of his weight on Gilbert's arm as he tried to lean even closer. "What's so funny?"

For once in a really long time, Gilbert was speechless. Matthew sloppily tried to lean forward, his lips nearly touching Gilbert's before the albino pulled back.

"Birdie, you're drunk," Gilbert muttered. Matthew just giggled and nodded, like he didn't have a care in the world. "Which means you have no idea what the hell you're doing."

"I think I know exactly what I'm doing," Matthew slurred as he leaned close to Gilbert's ear, breathing on it just right to make Gilbert shiver.

Gilbert barely allowed a small groan to escape his lips before he quickly pulled away.

"D-don't," Gilbert barely managed out, "do that."

"What?" Matthew giggled and moved closer again. "This?"

"Ah, no," Gilbert ducked away before he noticed how close he really was to a wall and felt his back hit against it. "I'm going to fucking kill Mathias…"

"Shouldn't you be focusing more on me?" Matthew giggled and leaned towards him, obviously intent on kissing Gilbert.

"U-uh…" Gilbert couldn't think of a way out of this. When he thought about it, it was mostly because he didn't want a way out of it. Before he could stop himself, he actually found himself leaning forward just slightly, smiling at the thought of actually kissing Matthew. Gilbert stopped just before Matthew's lips when the door slammed open and all of the girls in the room started screaming.

"Police!" a couple of guys shouted. Gilbert was distracted for half a second under Matthew managed to actually push him back into the wall and nibbled on his neck.

"Mmhm," Gilbert whimpered slightly before pushing Matthew away. "Not now, Birdie."

"You're so lame," Matthew giggled. "Definitely not awesome."

"I don't have time for this," Gilbert muttered, grabbing onto Matthew's arm and pulling him as quickly as he could towards the bar. With Mathias's help, they would be able to hide back there. And as long as Matthew kept his drunk mouth shut. "I'm getting you back for this!" Gilbert shouted to Mathias over the loud crowd that was now being evacuated.

"A thank you will suffice!" Mathias laughed as Gilbert rolled his eyes and ducked behind the bar with Matthew. It wouldn't be long before they started searching, so they just had to stay quiet and Mathias would have to work with them and they would be in the clear. The crowd grew quiet and Gilbert let out a small sigh of relief.

"This is so boring," Matthew sighed, catching Gilbert off guard once again and nearly pushing him down, onto the ground below them. Gilbert managed to catch himself on his elbows and Matthew was already on top of him. "Wouldn't you rather do somethin' like this?" He was leaning forward to kiss Gilbert again, but this time he was a little more prepared for it.

After a short while of hesitation, Gilbert managed to put his hand over his mouth just as Matthew kissed him. The room was nearly completely quiet around them now.

"No fai-" Matthew nearly shouted, but Gilbert covered his mouth, too, uncovering his own.

"Do me a favor and stay quiet for five minutes, Birdie," Gilbert sighed. Matthew did not seem pleased, however, and playfully licked Gilbert's hand. "Real mature…"

"Mathias, right?" Elizaveta's voice asked around them and Gilbert shuddered slightly as Matthew's licks grew more sensual.

"That would be me," Mathias said, pretty flirtatiously, too. "And may I ask why a hot chick like yourself would clear out my club?"

"I'm looking for Gilbert Beilschmidt," Elizaveta sighed. "I know you know him."

"Haven't seen him in ages," Matthias said simply. "Any of you guys?"

"No," Berwald said simply.

"I'd know that idiot anywhere," Lukas muttered.

"Then our lead was wrong?" Alfred muttered. "We didn't really have to move Dad?"

"I would have to be up and about eventually, lad," Arthur sighed.

"Yeah, but-"

"You're sure?" Elizaveta asked. "If you're lying to me right now, you'll all be arrested on the spot."

"Why would I lie to such a pretty face?" Mathias asked, obviously trying to be smooth. Matthew started trying to nibble on Gilbert's hand and he grit his teeth. Just a few more minutes…

"Fine, then we're searching," Elizaveta sighed. "I hope you don't mind."

"Nah, no problem, I'm not worried, I've got nothing to hide," Mathias said smoothly.

Gilbert slowly crawled backwards, eventually to the point where he and Matthew were around the five's legs. Matthew still seemed intent on pleasuring Gilbert's hand, which he was still desperately trying to ignore.

"Mind if I help you out?" Tino asked innocently. "It's a lot of work to search this whole place." Tino started moving, but he pretended to trip, resulting in him dropping a few bottles of alcohol on the ground, one of them painfully hitting Gilbert's arm. He had to fight not to groan in pain…or in pleasure as Matthew continued. At least he was being quiet… "Oh, no!" Tino gasped out, kneeling down to pick up the bottles as well as pull out a tarp from underneath the bar and swiftly pull it over them.

Gilbert knew the drill well enough. With the tarp on top of him, as well as hiding around their legs, any policeman that would search behind the bar would just think that it looked empty. It was pretty ingenious, and they would just have to stay quiet for a few minutes. However, shortly after they entered the dark, Matthew started to suck one of Gilbert's fingers.

Immediately, Gilbert flinched away and used his other, clean hand to cover Matthew's mouth. The blonde seemed to pout slightly before going towards a different target. Gilbert tried to pay attention to his surroundings, but the slightly cold hand on his inner thigh quickly distracted him and he had to use his other hand to pull it away. Matthew giggled slightly, apparently enjoying this new game in the dark, and started using his other hand.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, managing to capture both of Matthew's hands in one grip, while still keeping Matthew's mouth covered with his other hand. He would never have expected something like this coming from Matthew. He always figured he would be some kind of slap-happy drunk. Definitely not a pervert. This was almost as bad as Francis, for crying out loud.

"Nothing behind the bar," Alfred reported just as Matthew tried moving his leg up, in-between Gilbert's. Knowing that they were clear, Gilbert quickly and quietly moved so that he easily pinned Matthew below him, his wrists above his head in one grip, his mouth shut with the other, and Gilbert easily pinned down Matthew's legs with his own.

"Stay," Gilbert whispered warningly. Mathias obviously fought not to laugh and Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Looks like you are clean," Elizaveta sighed. "I'll have to search a few other places. I'm sure he couldn't have gone far."

"Francis, take Dad to the hotel," Alfred stated. "He shouldn't be walking around this much."

"For the last bloody time," Arthur snapped and their voices grew quieter, telling Gilbert that they were leaving, "I am not in that bad of condition."

"Sorry if I do not believe you," Francis sighed. That was the last of the conversation that Gilbert heard and he and Matthew stayed still for a short while.

"All clear," Mathias sounded off and Gilbert immediately stood up.

"Finally!" Gilbert groaned in relief.

"Having a little fun down there?" Mathias smirked.

"Don't you even-" Gilbert was cut off by a giggling Matthew trying to crawl up his legs. "Give him a couple more drinks. He's just a few away from passing out."

"Aw, what a cute couple," Mathias laughed.

"Put a sock in it," Gilbert rolled his eyes and tried to walk away and get Matthew off of him.

"Oi, kid," Mathias laughed, helping Matthew to his feet. "I know you want a couple more, right?"

"Uh…sure," Matthew giggled.

"I think you two are really cute!" Tino chimed happily.

"Yes, because that was fucking adorable," Gilbert rolled his eyes. It was hard to ignore the feelings he got from what Matthew was doing…or the fact that he really wanted to kiss him…or the fact that now he had a problem he had to deal with in the fucking bathroom…

"Don't be such a downer!" Mathias laughed.

"I'll be right back," Gilbert sighed, walking in the direction of where he hoped the bathroom was. "Make sure he passes out."

This kid was a lot harder to deal with than he first thought…

* * *

**Before you ask, I based the title off of the song by Brittany Spears. I heard this really amazing cover by VersaEmerge a while ago and it was beautiful! I really love this song for Gil and Mattie! Tell me what you think!**

**Also, I have always wanted to see an albino under black light. It must look cool… And for another thing, I have no idea what it is like to be drunk. I've had one sip of wine and I really didn't like the feeling, so obviously I've never been drunk. If I'm inaccurate, I apologize. I'm going off of what I've seen on TV and other fics, so I hope at least some of it is accurate!**

**So, why are the Nordics in Belgium? That is a very good question, one that I do not quite know the answer to. I assume that it was either Mathias or Tino's idea and they all just went along with it.**

**This was a pretty long chapter, too. I didn't expect it to be this long. I also expected it to be in Matthew's perspective, but I liked Gil's a little better. We also got a glimpse and FACE because, sadly, they did not get a lot of spotlight in this chapter, and they needed some love.**

**Anywho, I'm done rambling, so please review! It's greatly appreciated!**


	28. Thoughts

Gilbert let out a sigh, staring out the window as the scenery passed them by quickly. Matthew was lying down on the seat across from him, still heavily asleep, Gilbird nuzzling his hair (yes, even that damn bird somehow managed to get drunk). Gilbert knew that, when he woke up, he would have some massive headache and hopefully some memory loss. Gilbert had no idea what he would do if Matthew remembered the night before. That would just be…awkward?

Yes, awkward. Obviously, Matthew was just drunk and not acting like himself. There was obviously nothing between the two of them. This was just a way to have a little fun…

Maybe he should just give Matthew back before something really did start between the two of them. Gilbert couldn't afford to get close to anyone and he knew that. He wasn't allowed to settle down. He couldn't afford to let himself get distracted. And he'd already been distracted multiple times and it almost lead to him getting caught. By Ivan and the police.

Gilbert sighed and stood up, easily steadying himself with the movement of the train and left the small cabin he had bought for them, closing the door quietly behind him. A few spoiled, little kids ran past him and Gilbert smiled slightly. He couldn't help but feel jealous of all the little kids that were able to have a normal life. Their mother yelled at them to get back to their own cabin and Gilbert smirked. He glanced back at the door to his cabin before he started walking to where he knew he could get some food and water. He might as well have something ready for when Matthew woke up.

He glanced around subconsciously to check to see if there was anyone suspicious around him. He knew that Matthew's family had no idea where they were, thanks to his quick thinking, but Ivan could be right there. Any one of his lackeys could be following him right now.

He didn't have the time to focus on…whatever was going on with Matthew. He had to stay focused on keeping himself and Matthew out of danger. He wasn't about to let anything bad happen to either of them.

He just had to stay focused on running away.

* * *

"How's your head?" Alfred asked.

"Just like five minutes ago, I feel alright," Arthur sighed impatiently.

"Just alright isn't good enough," Alfred groaned.

"It's the best, considering the circumstances, Alfred," Arthur stated pointedly.

"But, I just-"

"Alfred," Francis placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let him rest. He will be fine."

"He did make the trip here just fine," Elizaveta stated from her laptop. "I'm sure he can handle it if we keep going."

"Thank you," Arthur sighed.

They were in yet another hotel suite, Arthur lying on a couch while Alfred had just recently stopped pacing in front of him. Francis stood next to him, while Elizaveta sat at a table just behind the couch. Alfred hated sitting still like this. They did it too often and it pissed him off. It was getting so close to Christmas and Alfred was going to spend it with his brother. He didn't care where they were, but he had to be with Matthew. Nothing was going to stop him.

He was on edge, but they weren't moving. And so his stress was all over the place. It didn't help that Arthur was injured, either. Everything was just pissing him off.

"I need to do something," Alfred sighed and began pacing again.

"Go for a jog," Elizaveta shrugged. "Blow off some steam. Who knows, maybe you'll see them."

"What if they've already left the country?" Alfred snapped. "They do that, right? A lot, apparently. We're close, I know it! We can't just sit around and let them get far away again!"

"Alfred, calm down," Arthur sighed.

"I can't calm down!" Alfred groaned. "In case you guys hadn't noticed, tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I'm not going to spend Christmas without my brother! I've never done that!"

"Do you not think we want to get him back just as much as you do?" Arthur snapped. "We are just going about it more logically. You just need to calm down."

"Right now, something bad could be happening to Mattie," Alfred stated. "A couple of days ago, something bad could have happened! Ivan could have caught up to them by now! What then?"

"We just have to think optimistically until we are proven otherwise," Francis said calmly.

"Just calm down and try to think all of this through," Elizaveta sighed, looking over at him. "Gilbert may be playing around, but he takes what he does seriously. You guys expect Matthew to come back in good shape. Eventually, Gilbert will be bored and give him back. Matthew will be perfectly fine when he finally decides to do that. Even if we catch them before that, he will still be unscathed. Do you understand?"

"I can't just sit around and wait," Alfred groaned.

"Then do as Elizaveta suggested and go for a run," Arthur sighed. "Just do something. Perhaps by the time you get back, we will have another lead."

"Because having a lead is helping us," Alfred sighed before quickly turning for the door. Maybe he should just go for a run, or even just a walk. He needed to do something and if he had to stay cooped up in a room for too much longer, he was going to go insane. "I'll be back later…"

Alfred quickly left the hotel suite and walked towards the elevator. He felt bad, staying in places like this while Matthew probably had to sleep outside, on a roof or in some alleyway. Who knew what Matthew was actually going through, but Alfred had to wonder. All of those times he had caught a glimpse of them, Matthew was doing nothing to get away. It almost looked like he was working with the criminal. Alfred knew that that couldn't be the case. Especially how close it was to Christmas, he was sure Matthew wanted to be with him just as much as Alfred.

As Alfred walked into the elevator, rather than pressing the button to go to the lobby, he pressed the button for the top floor, which was just one floor up.

So…what if Matthew was working with him? What did that mean? Was he turning into a criminal? No way, Matthew would never do that. What if Gilbert was putting something against him? What if Matthew had no other choice but to go with him?

The door opened in front of Alfred and he stepped into the empty hallway. He started walking to the door that had what looked like a sign that held stairs above it. He hardly understood anything in this city, since he only spoke English, but everything seemed multilingual. Luckily, opening the door, he saw stairs that still lead up. Perfect.

According to Francis and Elizaveta, Alfred had nothing to worry about, regarding Matthew's safety. But Alfred couldn't help it. Those two were who-knows-where right now and doing who-knows-what. That damn criminal was just messing with them at this point, too…

Opening the door, Alfred could see that it was rather late in the day and let out a sigh. So it was almost Christmas Eve. He really wished he could see Matthew before the night of Christmas Eve. They'd never been apart on this one holiday. It was special. Even their parents acknowledged this. Apparently, Gilbert didn't.

* * *

Matthew didn't want to wake up. He kept trying to go back to sleep, but the pounding in his head said otherwise. He let out a small groan and rolled over, onto his stomach. Maybe if he just shut his eyes tight enough, the world would go away. He had a really nice sleep. The more he thought, though, the more he figured out the alarming thought that he didn't really remember much after having those few drinks from Mathias. Matthew was never going to drink again.

"I gotta say, it's nice to be the one not hungover for once," Gilbert's smug voice cut into Matthew's ear and he winced slightly. This sucked. It felt like they were moving, which he really hoped they weren't. Would it kill them to stay in the same place for two freaking days?

"Shut up," Matthew muttered, his voice raspy.

"I brought you some food and water, so you better get up and enjoy my awesome gesture," Gilbert stated.

"No…" Matthew groaned. "Just let me sleep…"

"But then you'll miss us going into Germany," Gilbert let out a theatrical sigh. "You gotta be happier than that, Birdie."

"I don't really remember what happened last night…" Matthew said warily, looking up at Gilbert, who smirked while looking out the window. It looked like they were in some private cabin in a train. He didn't doubt it, knowing what Gilbert could do. "Did I do anything too bad? I know Arthur gets really bad when he's drunk…"

"Nah, no permanent damage," Gilbert shrugged, the smirk not leaving his face. Matthew saw a plate of food and a cup of water sitting next to Gilbert on his side of the cabin. "Except, maybe, to your liver."

"Great," Matthew huffed out a sigh, not wanting to get up. He knew that would make everything worse. "Why are we going to Germany?"

"I only wanted to be in Belgium for a little while," Gilbert shrugged. "Also, we're gonna have to get creative again with disguises, since Germany doesn't like me as much as Belgium, sadly."

"Why does Belgium like you so much?" Matthew asked.

"I have no clue," Gilbert shrugged. "I just have an awesome reputation there. All of the girls are dying to be with an awesome criminal like myself."

"And a few guys," Matthew smirked slightly. He remembered watching Gilbert dancing with all of those people, including a few guys, which made Matthew smile. Although, he couldn't ignore the small pang of jealousy that he got when he remembered the moment. Weird…

"I'm way too awesome for just one gender," Gilbert said proudly. "Now, get up and eat and drink. It'll suck, but it's good for you."

"Can I just die instead?" Matthew sighed, burying his face into the cushioning of the seat again.

"And to think I almost got you pancakes at that restaurant car," Gilbert scoffed and Matthew looked back up at him. He better not be kidding about that pancake thing.

"Wait, there were pancakes there and you didn't get me any?" Matthew asked.

"Maybe when you're feeling more up to it," Gilbert shrugged, lacing his hands behind his head as he leaned against his seat.

"But…" Matthew muttered, slowly sitting up. "Pancakes cure, like, anything. Even hangovers, I'm sure."

"I don't think it works that way, Birdie," Gilbert laughed. "But, whatever makes you feel better. Here, drink that water and I'll see what I can do."

"You better not be lying about those pancakes," Matthew muttered, slowly reaching forward for the glass of water. He was insanely thirsty, now that he thought about it. He started chugging the water as Gilbert stood up and opened the door to their cabin.

"I'll get you some more water, too," Gilbert smirked, shutting the door behind him.

Matthew smiled slightly, glancing out the window, Gilbird obviously still sleeping beside him. Maybe he was hungover, too. The scenery moved by quickly, making his head hurt a little more. He let out a small sigh. He tried to remember something in that blank space of his memory. Only one thought came to mind, though.

Gilbert.

* * *

**For the sake of the story, let's pretend from now on out that there are full trip trains from one destination to the other. Like, say we're going from Brussels to Frankfurt. I know there's not a train that will go directly (unless there is, then you can feel free to correct me) but we can just say there is. **

**Other than that, while I've been writing this, I've been listening to Cops and Robbers by The Hoosiers (and watching Taken 2). It seems as though I've been going with a theme today… It fits, though. And I'm still really hoping to coincide this fic with Christmas. I'm really close, so we'll see how this goes. I am running rather low on time.**

**With that said, please review!**


	29. Caught

"So, where are we going?" Matthew asked as he was being lead through the streets of a German city that he didn't recognize. And he had gotten so used to being able to read the French on the signs… At least Gilbert was German, so he should know where he's going.

"That is a good question," Gilbert muttered, looking back and forth across a busy street. He had a hood on to cover his hair. "It'd be great if we could find some kind of costume shop again or something."

"Well, you did already steal some money," Matthew shrugged. "I swear it's like a reflex to you now."

"It's an awesome reflex to have, Birdie," Gilbert winked at him before he started walking down the sidewalk, around several people that were off, minding their own business.

"Can't you just ask someone?" Matthew asked casually, looking around. The sky was gray and it was obvious that it was about to start snowing any second now. Perhaps at the costume store they could get something warm to dress in, Matthew really didn't like the idea of freezing when they slept on a roof that night.

"Uh…nah, we're fine," Gilbert shook his head, looking around. He didn't even look like he was reading any of the signs.

"It'll help if you actually read where we're going," Matthew sighed.

"I'm way too awesome for that," Gilbert scoffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Besides, it's not like we're in a rush or anything."

"Yeah, I guess not," Matthew muttered. Looking at everyone on their way, they either had a large amount of shopping bags or were moving quickly. Quite a few children were running around, laughing. A snowflake fell to the ground. It was Christmas Eve…and Matthew was still running away from his family. Alfred would be so pissed if he knew. Maybe if he…

"Birdie?" Gilbert asked and Matthew stopped walking when he saw the man standing in front of him. "Your spacing out. Am I just not awesome enough for you?" Matthew giggled. Just the sight of him standing there, Gilbird secretly nesting in his hair under his hood... It was hilarious.

"You're plenty awesome, Gil," Matthew shook his head.

"Yeah?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing important," Matthew shrugged. Gilbert didn't like Christmas and it seemed like he was just not thinking about it, so it wouldn't be smart to talk about it. As long as Matthew was on a roof by midnight, he would be happy. That was all he needed.

"And if I don't believe you?" Gilbert tilted his head slightly.

"Then you'll have to deal with it," Matthew shrugged and continued walking around the criminal. It was snowing even more now and Matthew smiled slightly. It was like a perfect Christmas. He and Alfred always hated it when it didn't snow on Christmas, or worse; if it rained.

"You're making me ask questions now," Gilbert sighed theatrically. "And it's all your fault, I hope you know."

"Fine," Matthew snorted.

"Ugh, is it about your family?" Gilbert asked and Matthew paused for a second. "'Cause, if it is…we could always just let you go. I know a lot of people wanna be with their family on Christmas."

"I-It's not that big of a deal," Matthew muttered, looking at the ground.

"I can tell that it is," Gilbert stated beside him. Gilbird tweeted and flew so that he was perched on Matthew's shoulder. "It's fine, I mean this would have to end eventually anyway."

"And then that'll just be it?" Matthew asked. "We just say goodbye and part ways?" Matthew didn't want that…He couldn't just say goodbye to Gilbert and go on with his life. No matter how much he wanted to be with his family…he wanted to be with Gilbert, too.

"Pretty much," Gilbert shrugged. Matthew noticed that his expression had grown rather somber as he stared straight ahead.

"But-"

"I mean, you'll be a hell of a lot safer," Gilbert stated. "You probably won't have to worry about Ivan anymore and you won't be running away from the police. Besides, if you hadn't noticed, I'm fucking crazy. I'd probably get you killed someday."

"No, I-"

"We can just text your bruder and get on with our lives," Gilbert shrugged and started to pull out Matthew's phone from his pocket.

"Gil, wait," Matthew sighed and stood in front of him, holding Gilbert's hand down. Gilbert actually looked confused as he glanced back down at him. "I don't want to leave."

"But…you should," Gilbert sighed, looking down at him. "You should just go back to your family and let things return to normal for you."

"And what if I don't want normal anymore?" Matthew asked defiantly.

"Trust me, you want normal," Gilbert muttered. He glanced behind Matthew and his expression completely changed. He actually looked…worried.

"What is it?" Matthew asked, slightly not wanting to look behind him. "Is it Ivan?"

"Shit…" Gilbert muttered and ran forward, past Matthew. "Hey! Stop!" Matthew looked back and saw that there were two kids, one of them on the ground like he had just tripped, in the middle of a street. A car was moving right towards them, the person texting on their phone without a care in the world.

Matthew's heart stopped when he saw Gilbert run into the street, in front of the two kids and in front of the car. The person looked up and obviously screamed, honking their horn as they braked as hard as they could. Gilbert winced, as if he was expecting to be hit, but the car screeched to a stop just a few centimeters in front of him.

"You…" Matthew muttered as he ran up to Gilbert, who just turned and knelt down in front of the kids. Quite a few people crowded around them and Matthew barely made it through them to reach Gilbert just as he helped the injured kid into the sidewalk, the other kid standing beside him. Traffic on the road resumed to normal. "Idiot!"

"What?" Gilbert asked, looking up at him. The people around them were speaking in German, but Matthew just ignored them as he looked at Gilbert.

"Idiot!" Matthew snapped again. "You could have gotten hit!"

"These kids could have just been killed," Gilbert looked back down at them. The one who had fallen was still crying and Gilbert sighed.

"If you're allowed to worry about me, I can worry about you," Matthew snapped.

A woman came through the crowd and began scolding the two kids before turning to Gilbert and talking to him in rapid German. Gilbert looked completely confused and backed away slightly.

"What is she saying?" Matthew asked.

"I…uh…" Gilbert muttered. Just then, two policemen made their way through the crowd and Gilbert froze. "Shit…"

The men spoke in German and Gilbert quickly tried to move through the crowd. Matthew glanced at the kids once before he followed him.

"Oi, wait! Do you speak English?" one of the men asked in a heavy accent as they followed them.

"Here would be your chance if you wanna get back to your family," Gilbert muttered and looked about ready to run.

"I don't want-"

"Kid," the other man sighed, placing a hand on Gilbert's shoulder and forcing him to turn around. Gilbert just looked right at the ground, his hood covering his head.

"Uh, yeah," Gilbert muttered. "Thanks and all, but I don't need praise, it's fine."

"You just saved lives!" the first man said happily. "You deserve it!"

"Nah, I'm fine…" Gilbert sighed and tried to get away, but the man holding him still simply flipped up his hood and Gilbert winced.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt," the man holding onto him laughed before pinning Gilbert into the nearest wall. He started speaking in German as he turned Gilbert around, placing handcuffs around his wrists before the criminal could even try to get away.

"And you would be his accomplice, ja?" the other man turned to Matthew, who roughly turned him around. Matthew was too shocked to try to fight back, cold metal locking around his wrists.

"Hey, he's not anything," Gilbert snapped. "Are you fucking blind? He's-"

"Of course I'm his accomplice," Matthew nodded in assent.

"Birdie, are you fucking stupid?" Gilbert glared at him and Matthew simply stayed quiet. The man pushing him towards a police car started speaking in German into a walkie-talkie. Gilbert desperately tried to get out of the grip of the man moving him, but he was obviously getting nowhere. Before long, they were both sitting in the back of a police car.

Both of the men started talking in rapid German, laughing amongst themselves.

"What are they saying?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know," Gilbert grumbled, slamming his head into the seat behind him as he glared out the window. Matthew could tell in his eyes that he was trying to find some way out of this. Matthew found it pretty odd that they had actually gotten caught. Usually, Gilbert knew where policemen were from a mile away. Why was he so distracted? Was it those kids? Or was it the talk that they had just had?

* * *

"Oh, my God!" Elizaveta screamed, standing up from where she sat, causing the other men in the suite to jump in surprise.

"Jesus, Eliza," Alfred grumbled.

"They arrested him," Elizaveta muttered in disbelief, reading through her screen.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Someone's arrested Gilbert Beilschmidt," Elizaveta muttered, shaking her head as she read it over and over again.

"How did they…?" Francis muttered, quickly running over to read over Elizaveta's shoulder.

"No way," Alfred shook his head. "They couldn't have! We haven't even gotten close! Except for maybe in Spain…"

"Gilbert saved a few kids from being hit by a car," Elizaveta muttered, looking down at her screen. "The police attempted to congratulate him and blew his cover. They arrested him on the spot."

"Was Mattie there?" Alfred asked, running over as well.

"They said he had an accomplice with him," Elizaveta muttered. "Didn't go in with a fight. They don't think it's Matthew because he admitted to being an accomplice."

"So, then, where's Mattie?" Alfred pressed.

"I don't know," Elizaveta shook her head. "But if we can talk to Gilbert, then we'll be able to find out."

"And if Ivan gets there first?" Arthur asked from his seat on the couch.

"We have to move now," Francis pressed.

"I'll get the bags," Alfred nodded and ran out of the room. A small part of his mind told him that Matthew was probably that accomplice. If Matthew was actually going around with this criminal willingly, then he was basically an accomplice, right?

"Where are we going?" Arthur asked.

"Frankfurt, Germany," Elizaveta muttered. She paused for a moment. "Oh, my God…"

"What?" Francis asked, looking over her shoulder to try to see what she was reading.

"Why is he there?" Elizaveta asked, typing on her keyboard. "He shouldn't even be there, he should be in Berlin! This just changed things. We won't get there fast enough."

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked, coming back to them, leaving the bags where they were for now.

"I…" Elizaveta muttered as Francis frantically searched for what she had just seen. "This is seriously not good. When Gilbert sees him…"

"Mon Dieu," Francis' eyes widened as he found what he was searching for.

"What?" Alfred snapped and Arthur looked over with a curious look as well.

"Ludwig Beilschmidt, Gilbert's brother, is in Frankfurt," Francis muttered. "Right now, he's working for the same station that arrested Gilbert."

* * *

**The questions I have had about Ludwig. Will he show up? Well, you now have your answer. I've been waiting so patiently for this moment. As you can all expect, next chapter will be filled completely with angst that will make things interesting. For now, though, have fun with the knowledge that Ludwig is now a character.**

**One reviewer was talking about the calm before the storm last chapter… I have to say, I consider next chapter to be the storm…**

**With that in mind, please review!**


	30. Trapped

Maybe if they could…No, that'd take too long.

What if they…No, that was stupid.

How about… Totally not awesome.

Gilbert let out a sigh, hitting his head against the wall of where he sat. This was definitely not okay. He was stuck in one place and he couldn't leave. It was like he was a sitting target, waiting for Ivan to just come by. And not to mention the fact that Matthew was there with him. Why didn't the kid just leave when Gilbert told him to? And why the hell did he pretend that he was Gilbert's accomplice? He could've just said that he was Matthew fucking Williams and then he'd be fine.

As much as it hurt, Gilbert knew that Matthew couldn't hang around him anymore. It was dangerous and Matthew had to leave before he got hurt. Gilbert wasn't allowed to get close to anyone. He had to stay alone.

"Any luck?" Matthew asked, mindlessly playing with a pin in his hands. Gilbert knew that Matthew could get them out of the cuffs any time he wanted, but he was probably just waiting for him to come up with a plan.

"I'm thinking," Gilbert muttered, looking around the small, stupid holding cell that they were in. Of all things, why was it a freaking holding cell? Gilbert was a world-renowned criminal and they just shoved him into a holding cell? What the hell… It had one bed, sink, and toilet and had gray, brick walls around three sides of it. The side with the bars faced the work space of all those stupid policemen. They all seemed to take turns staring at the two in the cell, who were slumped, sitting against the far wall.

"You're taking a pretty long time," Matthew noted, shrugging slightly. He put the pin into his pair of handcuffs, fiddling around with it. "Considering all the stuff I've seen you get us out of, this shouldn't even be hard for you."

"Yeah, well, all those other things are practiced," Gilbert stated. "I've never been arrested before."

"Then how did it happen this time?" Matthew asked, opening one of the cuffs and freeing his wrist.

"I was distracted," Gilbert sighed. It was true. Matthew was distracting. There was another good reason that he should just leave.

"Gimme your wrist," Matthew stated, holding out his hands. He kept the other wrist cuffed, most likely just in case they had to pretend that they were still restrained. Gilbert sighed and obeyed. He really should have paid attention to Francis when he was doing his lock-picking. "We're going to get out of here by tonight, right?"

"Of course," Gilbert nodded and stood up just when his wrist was freed. A few people working seemed to jump in surprise. A few of them stared at him, looking pretty damn terrified. Gilbert smirked. It felt good to know that he was awesome enough to instill fear in police officers. Gilbert sighed, looking around the bars once again. He stopped, though, when he saw the small Christmas decoration hanging between two bars and he let out a laugh. "Hey, Birdie, check it out, mistletoe."

Gilbert smirked as he easily picked off the small decoration and held it above his head. In this kind of situation, the best thing for him to do would be joke around.

"Whaddya say, Birdie?" Gilbert laughed, looking over at Matthew, whose face was bright red. "Aw, come on! You know you wanna kiss the awesome me!"

"You're such an idiot," Matthew muttered, looking at the ground.

"Hm?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "What as that? I couldn't hear you. Anyway, if you just called me an idiot, I'd have to correct you and say that I'm an aweso-"

Gilbert couldn't finish because Matthew had swiftly stood from his spot and placed a quick peck on Gilbert's lips. Gilbert immediately froze and dropped the fake leaf in his hand. It felt like his lips were on fire and his face quickly followed as he tried to grasp just what had happened. Matthew stood in front of him, his face even more red than before.

"S-sorry," Matthew muttered as Gilbert desperately tried to get his bearings back. "I-I just…You don't…I…um…s-sorry…"

Before Gilbert could stop himself, he quickly gripped onto the back of Matthew's head and pulled him into another kiss. The fire on his lips returned as Matthew's lips perfectly molded against his. Matthew was actually kissing back… Everything else just melted away; the police round them, the worry of Ivan catching them, everything. All that mattered at that moment was the perfect bliss at that moment.

Neither of them wanted to pull away and Gilbert was actually surprised when he found that it was Matthew's tongue asking for entrance first. With a smirk, Gilbert allowed it and a very short fight for dominance ensued. Gilbert was thoroughly surprised that he had actually lost, but the feeling was eagerly ignored as Matthew began to explore the inside of his mouth. Gilbert actually felt himself groan slightly in pleasure and he felt Matthew smile against his lips.

Finally, the need to breathe was greater than the bliss and they separated, both panting heavily. The world slowly came back, but Gilbert easily ignored the obnoxious policemen around them as he stared down at Matthew, who seemed to have an equally shocked expression on his face.

"Where the hell did you learn how to do that?" Gilbert panted. It took every ounce of his self-control to not kiss Matthew again.

"Francis is my papa," Matthew smirked slightly, obviously relieved. "Did you really think I'd be bad at kissing?"

"I will never doubt him again," Gilbert shook his head, laughing slightly. He leaned down to kiss Matthew once again. He knew he should be worrying about something, but he couldn't find himself to care enough at that moment. After all, if it was important, it could probably wait.

* * *

"You can't be serious," Gilbert laughed.

"Shut up," Matthew nudged him in the side with his elbow. "I am being serious."

"All of them broke up with you?" Gilbert asked in disbelief. How could anyone even want to leave Matthew, the perfect person that he was?

"I guess they all just found Al a little more interesting," Matthew shrugged. They were both leaning against the wall again, though this time they were sitting a lot closer. Matthew was resting his head against Gilbert's shoulder happily and Gilbert had never felt more comfortable in his life.

"More interesting?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see their faces now, knowing that you've toured fucking Europe with the most awesome criminal in the world."

"I highly doubt that I'd pay them much attention anymore," Matthew muttered. "I've been hanging out with someone way more awesome than any of them."

"Combined," Gilbert smirked, finishing the sentence for Matthew.

"Whatever makes you feel better," Matthew laughed and Gilbert smirked. He didn't know why he was trying to get away from his Birdie just a little while ago. Nothing in this world right now would get him to leave his side.

"So, seriously," Gilbert stated, ignoring the small gust of cold air that came with the door opening in front of them, "how did you learn to kiss like a fucking boss? Francis didn't teach you or anything, right?"

"No!" Matthew snapped, hitting Gilbert's arm. "Of course not! It's just something I could do. I've been able to tie knots in cherry stems since I was, like, 6."

"God damn," Gilbert laughed.

"Gilbert?" a deep voice interrupted their conversation and Gilbert let out a groan. It was just some annoying police officer, he didn't care. When he looked over, though, the expression on this one made him thoroughly confused.

The man was huge, for one, with slicked back blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Obviously a no-nonsense kind of guy, which made his expression even more confusing. It was some kind of mixture of happiness and sorrow and Gilbert had to wonder why seeing him would make such a reaction. It was funny, though, the guy looked insanely familiar. If he didn't know any better, he would have said that he was his…

Father… But his father was dead and there was only one person in the world that looked that similar to him.

"Ludwig?" Gilbert's voice was oddly small as he stood up, leaving Matthew to just be simply confused, sitting on the ground. The man in front of him just stared at him in disbelief and started speaking in rapid German. Gilbert just shook his head. "I don't even fucking remember German, it's been so long since I've really used it." It was sad, but true. He barely knew English when he was taken, but he wasn't allowed to use German, Ivan always hated it. He hadn't used it in fifteen years. The man stopped talking in front of him and just looked him up and down. Gilbert hoped to God he knew English.

"What are you doing?" the man asked and Gilbert sighed with relief. He had an obvious accent, but his English was still pretty good.

"That's the first thing you have to say to me?" Gilbert smirked slightly, looking the man up and down. Was this really his little brother? "Wait, why the hell are you so much taller than me?"

"That is all you care about?" the man scoffed, shaking his head.

"Uh, who is this?" Matthew asked quietly, standing up.

"This is Ludwig, my little bruder," Gilbert couldn't help but laugh. Little his ass. Gilbert could see all of the other policemen gossiping amongst themselves. They knew Ludwig was here and what his reaction would be. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Berlin."

"I was moved," Ludwig stated. "They needed me more here. What are you doing here?"

"Doing what I do best," Gilbert sighed. "Running away."

"You wouldn't have to run if you-"

"Save it," Gilbert shook his head. "I'm running for a good reason." At that moment, Ivan finally returned to his head. Gilbert froze. Ivan had to be close by. The idea of Gilbert in a cage was too irresistible to him, Gilbert knew that. And now Ludwig was there too…And then there was Matthew, on top of it all. "Shit…You can't be here."

"Gilbert, you can't expect me to leave just as I finally found you," Ludwig stated.

"No, you don't fucking understand!" Gilbert snapped. "There's a reason I didn't come back! There's a reason I didn't come to find you after I finally got free! He will get you just to fucking spite me! You're not even supposed to fucking be here!"

"Who are you talking about?" Ludwig asked.

"You won't even know who the hell he is!" Gilbert groaned. "That day I was taken, do you remember that guy with a scarf, white hair, and purple eyes?"

"Nein," Ludwig shook his head.

"Yeah, I figured," Gilbert groaned, hitting his head to try to think of something quick. He had to get out of there as soon as possible. He should never have even seen Ludwig again, dammit.

"Hey, Gil, calm down," Matthew stated.

"I can't!" Gilbert yelled. "Ivan is probably here right now! I'm stuck in a fucking cage and he's…Ludwig's right there… Dammit…"

A policeman walked up to Ludwig and they spoke in German to each other as Gilbert frantically tried to search his mind for something, anything for them to do. He had to keep his brother safe, that was the only reason he was running, he wasn't about to just stop now. He had to get out of this damn station and distract Ivan before he even possibly learned that Ludwig was there.

"I will be back," Ludwig sighed as he walked away and Gilbert started pacing.

"Hey, it'll be okay, we'll think of something," Matthew muttered.

Gilbert just said nothing. He couldn't think of anything to say, let alone do. Those cops were staring at them every second of the day, they couldn't just pick the lock and run. There was no way for him to get out of there. Ivan would have a fucking picnic. Not only was Ludwig there, but so was Matthew. And Gilbert would just be stuck where he was. It was a fucking nightmare.

* * *

Gilbert's paranoia had only gotten worse as the day dragged on and turned into night. Why the hell wasn't Ivan around yet? Something was wrong. Ludwig had left a long time ago, maybe he'd already gotten to him. Maybe he was just fucking with Gilbert now. After all, he was stuck in a cage, forced to just watch.

"Gilbert, you need to breathe," Matthew sighed as Gilbert continued his endless pacing.

"Breathing is not my fucking priority right now," Gilbert stated.

"It looks like Ludwig can handle himself," Matthew stated.

"I look like that, too, but I can't," Gilbert snapped. "Ivan just has this way to just make it impossible."

"I believe in you, Gil," Matthew sighed. "I know you'll get everyone out of this mess. You just aren't thinking clearly because you're panicking."

"I have a damn good reason to panic," Gilbert snapped.

"Just take a deep breath and-" Matthew stopped just as the lights turned off in the building. Immediately, Gilbert stood in front of Matthew. The only way for Ivan to get into the cell is through the bars and they would have to go through Gilbert first to get to his Birdie.

Gilbert heard the sound of grunting and tightened his hands into fists. He was not going to go down without a fight. There was a loud bang, something hitting a table of some sort, and it was quiet once again. The lights turned back on and Gilbert had to blink to gain his vision back.

His fists dropped when he saw who was walking towards them.

"Ludwig?" Gilbert muttered, watching as Ludwig placed a key from a fairly large key ring into the lock to the cell and opened the door.

"You better realize that I am going to be fired for this," Ludwig sighed, dropping the keys onto the floor and Gilbert noticed the gloves on his hands. He smirked.

"I guess going after a ton of criminals helps you learn how they think," Gilbert smirked and started walking out of the cell.

"All of them except for you," Ludwig stated. Just as Gilbert was about to pass him, though, he was pulled into a hug my his brother. Gilbert couldn't help but wince. This would probably be the closest they would get to being family again.

"Look," Gilbert pushed him away. "It's been great, but I have to get going now. There's a guy out there that will hurt you and I need to distract him."

"If you are talking about Ivan Braginski," Ludwig stated, "there has just been news that he was brought into custody just an hour ago."

"What?" Gilbert froze. There was no possible way that someone caught Ivan. It was impossible…

"Elizaveta Héderváry arrested him, along with several other accomplices," Ludwig stated.

"Really?" Gilbert muttered. If that girl managed to catch Ivan, of all people…then she obviously wasn't taking catching Gilbert seriously. Gilbert was going to have to have a word with her someday.

"Then I guess that means we could stay with him, right Gilbert?" Matthew chimed behind him and Gilbert turned around to glare at him. Just because Ivan was "caught" didn't mean that they were safe. And besides all that, Gilbert wouldn't be able to just spend the night at his brother's house, after all that happened.

"Gut," Ludwig nodded and turned around. "I could always call to say that you escaped, if you start to run."

"And then the scary, knocked out policemen on the floor will go after me?" Gilbert asked bluntly.

"What's so bad about staying indoors for a night?" Matthew asked calmly as he followed Ludwig, much to Gilbert's dismay. "Like you said, who doesn't want to be with their family on Christmas?"

"Very funny," Gilbert grumbled and begrudgingly followed them. One night, that was all he needed. He would be hidden for a night and then he could keep going. A part of him told him to be smarter than to think that Ivan was actually arrested.

The other part was insanely relieved that the things he cared about could finally be safe.

* * *

"I should warn you about the dogs," Ludwig stated as they entered the house. He turned on the lights and three dogs immediately raced over to them. They immediately started barking at Gilbert and Matthew, causing the smaller of the two to jump.

"You know, they're just so cute and loveable," Gilbert stated sarcastically, closing the door as one of them growled at him.

"Once you know them better, they won't harm you," Ludwig sighed, walking into his living room, which consisted of just a sofa, table, and TV.

"That's reassuring," Gilbert sighed and cautiously stepped around the dogs.

"To me, it seems like these guys are a great judge of character," Matthew giggled as the German Shepard nuzzled his leg.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Gilbert sighed.

"So, I assume this is not your accomplice," Ludwig stated, looking at Matthew as he knelt down to pet the dog. "Is that Matthew Williams?"

"Uh, yeah," Gilbert sighed, inching away from the dog still growling at him. The other one placed its head in Ludwig's lap as soon as he sat down.

"He does not seem very kidnapped," Ludwig stated.

"No," Gilbert shook his head. "In all honesty, he could get away any time he wants. Even back in England."

"You seem to be fond of him," Ludwig noted as Gilbert looked over to see Matthew laughing as the German Sheppard started licking his face.

"Maybe I am," Gilbert shrugged and carefully maneuvered around the still growling dog as he made his way into where he hoped the kitchen was. He was starving.

* * *

Elizaveta desperately tried to regain her bearings as she planted her feet onto the ground and pointed her pistol at the man in front of him. They had just landed in Frankfurt when this yellow chick started pulling on her hair. It was leading her somewhere, but she didn't know where until that moment, as she stared down the man in front of her. Several policemen stood with her, all of them with guns. She was panting heavily, though it seemed like the target, who was standing against the wall, was not exerted in the slightest.

"Hands up," Elizaveta stated clearly, using the most authoritative voice she could muster.

"You would not shoot me," the man hummed happily. "You would not shoot Gilbert."

Elizaveta pulled the trigger of the gun and the bullet hit just to the left of the man's head. He did not seem alarmed in the slightest, rather, he was amused.

"This is different," Elizaveta stated, cocking the gun once again. "Hands up."

"You still did not shoot me," the man giggled and Elizaveta grit her teeth.

"Ivan Braginski, you are under arrest," Elizaveta stated. "There is plenty of evidence against you and multiple witnesses. If you do not come willingly, I will incapacitate you."

"You would trust a few petty criminals to give you a story?" Ivan hummed simply. That yellow chick flew over to him and pecked at his head. At this, Ivan frowned and easily swatted the bird away, spitting a few Russian words at it. "You will need more evidence than that."

"I have a couple of billionaires," Elizaveta shrugged. Ivan simply laughed and took a step forward. Elizaveta fired her gun once again, this time just barely grazing the top of Ivan's head. This time, he looked surprised. "Last warning." She cocked the gun again.

He nodded to two of the men next to her and they advanced forward. Elizaveta took a breath to steady herself, never taking her eyes off of the dangerous man in front of her. Ivan simply smirked and held his hands up in front of himself. As the men moved towards him, he did not move. However, just as they were about to move his hands behind his back, Ivan's arm began to move. Elizaveta did not hesitate.

She fired.

* * *

**Is the suspense killing you yet? Hehehehe. Gilbird, you little superhero, you. He knew that Gilbert would be in danger with the current circumstances and decided to bring in the cavalry. Alfred, Francis, and Arthur? Well, they're around. You'll see next chapter.**

**And the freaking jail scenes were so evil to write! The effort I put into this chapter was immense, but it was totally worth it. Tomorrow's Christmas and I have no idea if next chapter will be as intense or leaning more on the fluffy side, but we shall see.**

**Oh, and thanks to Konoha-11-are-cool for being reviewer number 300! This is my most reviewed story and I'm glad people like it this much! (I nearly died when I figured out that my last chapter got so many reviews! 18! 18!)**

**Please review!**


	31. Merry

Gilbert slowly opened his eyes from his sleeping position on the floor. He had slept a lot deeper than he normally did, which alarmed him. Ever since Spain, he'd been slowly sleeping deeper and deeper. He knew it wasn't safe, even if there was a chance that Ivan had been arrested. Gilbert glanced to the couch, where Matthew should have been sleeping and shot into a sitting position when he found that he wasn't. The blanket and pillow that Ludwig had given him were gone, too.

"Birdie?" Gilbert asked out loud. There was a small chance, but maybe the kid had gotten up before him and was just out and about. He waited for a response and felt his heart sink. "Birdie!" Gilbert quickly stood up, detangling himself from the small blanket he had been forced to accept.

Gilbert quickly moved to the front door, but it was locked. Immediately, he started looking around at the windows. They were all locked. Was there some way that Ivan had actually gotten away from the police and found Ludwig's house? Gilbert tried to convince himself that it was impossible, but he couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Where the hell was Matthew?

"Birdie!" he called as he quickly moved up the stairs after checking all of the windows downstairs. He didn't even care if we woke up Ludwig, despite the fact that it was still dark outside, it was so early. Just as Gilbert walked up the stairs, he stopped in front of an unlocked window. It was right next to where the roof began, which had a thin layer of snow on top of it.

Gilbert quickly pushed open the window and stuck out half his body, hoping to see something. On the roof, a small portion that was horizontal, there was a small bundle of a blanket, some wheat-blonde hair sticking out of the top and Gilbert let out a heavy sigh. He glanced around, just to make sure that no one was around and quickly climbed onto the roof. He shivered slightly at how cold it was. Why the hell was Matthew up here? Had he been there all night?

"Birdie," Gilbert knelt down next to the kid and lightly pushed his shoulder. Matthew groaned and turned over. "What the hell are you doing up here?"

"Watching for Santa," Matthew mumbled, his face in the pillow below his head.

"Uh, okay," Gilbert blinked. He really wasn't expecting that answer, of all things. Did the kid still believe in Santa Claus? If he did, that could be a minor problem, considering the obvious lack of gifts under the Christmas Tree in Ludwig's house. "Have you been out here all night?"

"Yeah," Matthew muttered. "Sorry I didn't tell you… I figured since Ivan was gone that it'd be fine…"

"You must be fucking freezing," Gilbert sighed. "We gotta get you inside."

"Is it morning?" Matthew asked, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, and fucking early at that," Gilbert shrugged. "I figured we might as well get going soon."

"Today?" Matthew sat up. "But it's Christmas and you just found your brother! At least spend a little time with him!"

"Yeah, well, that's a little awkward," Gilbert sighed. "Besides, I hate staying in one place for too long, you know that."

"At least give me some time to actually wake up," Matthew sighed, lying back down under the covers. "You wake up way too early."

"Alright," Gilbert sighed and looked up at the sky. "So, what's with the whole watching for Santa thing?"

"Alfred and I started it a really long time ago, probably when we were five," Matthew muttered and Gilbert could see his breath puff above his red nose. "We would climb on top of the roof, wherever we were staying for that time, and we'd watch for Santa. Al always had questions he wanted to ask him in person because he thought a letter just wouldn't cut it. Eventually, we found out Santa didn't exist, but we still climbed on the roof every Christmas Eve. It's just something we've done and we always do it alone. We practically gave Francis and Arthur a heart attack the first time we did it."

"You gave me a fucking heart attack," Gilbert smirked.

"This is the first Christmas Eve Alfred and I haven't been together," Matthew muttered. "But I still went on the roof. I dunno, maybe he's on a roof, too, but it still feels a little empty."

"You know, I could have gone up here with you," Gilbert stated. "My awesome body could have kept you warm."

"Thanks, Gil," Matthew giggled. "But it's a thing we do alone. No matter how cold it is, we'll just grab a blanket and an umbrella if we have to."

"That is fucking adorable," Gilbert laughed, imagining a little Matthew huddled under an umbrella with that idiot, Alfred, staring at the sky. Gilbert stopped believing in Santa his first Christmas with Ivan. He never got one gift, except for a beating because he didn't get enough money from that one drugstore. Even his nightmares of Krampus coming to get him disappeared because nothing was worse than where he was now.

"What are you two doing?" Ludwig called up to them and Gilbert looked over the edge of the roof. He could see Ludwig looking up at them, his three dogs on leashes, and in what looked like work-out clothing.

"Looking for Santa," Gilbert replied and Matthew let out a laugh. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I get up early every morning to run," Ludwig stated. "Get inside before you get frostbite."

"You, too, Luddie," Gilbert smirked and looked over to Matthew. "Come on, maybe he's got some hot chocolate or something."

"I hope you realize that we won't be leaving today," Matthew hummed as he slowly got out of his blanket cocoon and shivered slightly at the cold air before picking up his blanket and pillow. Gilbert let him go through the window first, helping him when he almost slipped, before ducking in himself and closing and locking the window. "It was really cold out there."

"You're so cute," Gilbert laughed, hugging Matthew. The poor kid was freezing and shivering, but Gilbert just hugged him. At least he could give some of his body heat to the kid.

"Funny," Matthew muttered into Gilbert's chest, where his head happened to be, "you don't look like you'd be this warm."

"Having white hair doesn't automatically make me Jack Frost," Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say," Matthew muttered.

"Come on, let's get you a warmer blanket," Gilbert separated them, shivering slightly himself from how cold Matthew was. How had he even managed to fall asleep like that? Then again, Gilbert had fallen asleep in worse. Matthew simply nodded and they made their way down the stairs. Gilbert picked up the blanket he had used and wrapped it around Matthew, tossing his original blanket and pillow onto the couch.

"Were you two trying to kill yourselves?" Ludwig asked from the kitchen. That one dog from yesterday came up and growled at Gilbert, causing Matthew to laugh again.

"Oh, please, it takes more than that to kill me," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Guns can't even kill this awesomeness!"

"Don't push it," Matthew stated and walked into the kitchen. Gilbert just sighed and followed him. Sitting on the table, he noticed a small box, wrapped in red paper and with a gold bow sitting on top of it.

"I'm sorry I don't have much to prepare for you," Ludwig sighed, opening a cabinet. "I do have some hot chocolate from the last time Feli visited."

"Feli, huh?" Gilbert slumped down in one of the chairs. "No shit, how's that kid doing?"

"He's fine," Ludwig stated, messing with a few things. "His brother seems to hate me."

"Lovi was always full of hate," Gilbert shrugged, trying to remember those two little kids Romulus always tried to make him hang out with. "I remember he would throw his cereal at my head."

"Why do you only have one gift?" Matthew asked curiously, looking at the small box.

"I have never been one to celebrate Christmas," Ludwig shrugged as he started pouring some water into a coffee pot and started boiling it. "I have had that gift for a while. It was something vater wanted to give to you, Gilbert."

"Yeah?" Gilbert muttered, looking over the box cautiously.

"I never expected you to come back, but he seemed to," Ludwig stated, not turning around to face them. "He told me to keep it out."

"I didn't expect to come back, either," Gilbert sighed and carefully picked up the small box. It wasn't very heavy. "Do you know what's in it?"

"Nein," Ludwig shook his head. "I've never looked inside."

"Let's see it, then," Gilbert sighed, tearing apart the delicate paper. This was his first present in 15 years, but he wasn't giddy like some little kid. Unwrapping it, he found a simple white box and let out a sigh, He took off the lid and looked inside.

"What is it?" Matthew asked curiously, sitting down next to him.

"It's a flask," Gilbert said slowly, taking out the small, metal container. "Are you sure this was from him?"

"Yes," Ludwig nodded, turning around with an odd look on his stoic face. Gilbert looked it over, tossing it to his other hand.

"Alright, then," Gilbert snorted and shook the thing, almost hoping to hear some kind of alcohol sloshing around inside it. He paused slightly when he heard something else. "I'll make sure I use it soon." Gilbert stored it into his pocket.

"So," Matthew sighed, leaning forward at the table and towards Ludwig. "Do you do anything other than police work, Ludwig?"

Gilbert hardly paid any attention. He was really curious what kind of note his own father would give him, especially if he hid it in something like a flask…

* * *

"Has anyone seen Alfred?" Elizaveta asked, walking into the suite they had booked in Germany from the room that Alfred had chosen as his own.

"He's most likely on the roof," Arthur yawned, just waking up. He had just walked out of the room he shared with Francis, who was still getting his "beauty sleep." It seemed like the man could finally sleep well for the first time in years now that Ivan was in prison.

"Why is he on the roof?" Elizaveta asked. "It snowed last night, you know. It's freezing."

"It's something he and Matthew started before we met them," Arthur shrugged. He was used to it by now, but a lot of people generally freaked out the first time they learned about it. It was rather amusing to see Scott's reaction to it. "I have no doubt that Matthew slept on a roof as well."

"And this is normal?" Elizaveta asked.

"Yes," Arthur nodded and walked into the kitchen of the suite to prepare some tea. He could hardly believe that it was Christmas and they still hadn't found Matthew. They figured finding Ivan would be a good lead, though that was simply a dead end. And that blasted bird had disappeared after Elizaveta shot the man in the arm. After that experience, it took several hours of coaxing to get her to calm down. Elizaveta hated guns, he learned that the hard way, and she normally kept the safety on. This time, though, she had to take it seriously, and actually shot. It was amazing, all considered.

"Why do they do that?" Elizaveta asked.

"It started with them watching for Santa," Arthur chuckled. "They just continued to do it, even after they stopped believing. I don't understand it, but it's something we could never stop them from doing."

"That's adorable!" Elizaveta clasped her hands together. "And it's even cuter if they're on separate roofs!"

"Yes, yes," Arthur sighed. "I might as well go check on him. It is rather late in the morning."

"Try not to catch a cold," Elizaveta called as Arthur left the room, barely remembering to slip on some shoes. He swiftly made his way up the stairs to the roof and opened it, scrunching his face slightly into the cold wind.

"Alfred," Arthur sighed, pushing aside the door as he walked onto the roof. "You better not catch a cold and get inside." He glanced around, expecting to find the idiot asleep somewhere. "Alfred?" Arthur called, walking further onto the roof. His heart slowly plummeted. "Alfred!" He was nowhere to be seen. "Dammit, Alfred, this isn't funny!"

Only silence met him as his heart rate and breathing sped up. This was impossible. Ivan was in custody…he was shot in the bloody arm! There was no possible way that he could have gotten to Alfred!

Then…where was he?

Arthur immediately ran down the stairs and fumbled with the cardkey, just barely able to open the door.

"Are you sure Alfred was not in his room?" Arthur asked, holding onto Elizaveta's arms after he ran into the room.

"Yeah, he definitely wasn't there," Elizaveta stated. "Why? Was he not on the roof?"

"No," Arthur muttered, his voice getting smaller.

"I'll wake up Francis," Elizaveta stated, rushing into the room Francis was in. Arthur fumbled with his phone on the counter and hurriedly called Alfred. Perhaps the boy was just out for a stroll and had his phone and this was all just some misunderstanding.

The American anthem blared loudly from inside Alfred's room and Arthur started to shake. This couldn't be happening.

"Mon cher," Francis stated, stumbling out of the room, half asleep. "Ivan is in custody. There is no possible way he has Alfred."

"Then where is he, Francis?" Arthur snapped. "He's not on the bloody roof!"

"Let's calm down," Francis said. "I am sure there is a logical explanation."

"Hold on," Elizaveta sighed, answering her phone that had just began to buzz. "Hello? … What? Are you serious?!" She glanced at Arthur and his heart sank even more. "Has Alfred Jones been anywhere near there?" Elizaveta didn't even listen to half of it when she hung up. "Ivan paid bail. We have to move. Alfred was at the police station."

"How did he…?" Francis muttered, his face turning to shock.

"We're moving now, Francis!" Arthur snapped, already halfway to the door.

* * *

**BTW, Krampus is the German Whipping Father, who is Santa's helper. He kidnaps the naughty children and makes them act as his slaves. I learned about him a couple years ago and I still love him. If I ever have kids, I'm having him believe in Krampus along with Santa.**

**So, I did it. Christmas in the real world and my fic coincided, the bad part is, there's another half of the day still waiting to be written. That's alright, in all honesty, I don't really care, since I got the first half out on Christmas. I'd expect the second half is going to be out...in two days, after all, I do have to ogle over my new presents like...a 3DS with Pokémon X and Doctor Who Monopoly...You know, the simple things. But, yeah, two days, writing a chapter a day is taxing, especially since I'm trying to whip up something for New Years.**

**On the bright side, we got some nice fluff in the first half…followed by some epic suspense there at the end. And if y'all were curious, next chapter you will be seeing more of Ivan! And before any of you get mad at him or how I'm portraying him, I'm just gonna say that he's got a backstory just like everyone else.**

**Now, I feel like that is all. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever you may say to your friends! I hope you have a lovely time with whatever you're doing!**


	32. Save Me

Alfred was beyond pissed off. If looks could kill, the man in front of him would have finally been killed. But, no, he was just stuck in jail, behind a few bars.

"You seem to be enjoying what you are seeing, Fredka," the man giggled and Alfred shivered. What the hell was it about this man that made him so terrified? He looked far different from what Alfred expected; white hair, violet eyes…that damn scarf!

"Shut up," Alfred snapped, making sure he was as far away from the creep as possible. Ivan Braginski was just sitting happily on the bed of the cell he was staying in, without a care in the world. As if he weren't a criminal with a life-sentence.

"You are so cute when you are angry," Ivan smiled and Alfred took another step back. He still had no idea why he decided to come there that morning. It was Christmas, he should be with his family. But, sitting on that rooftop all night, he couldn't sleep. He had to talk to this man.

"Is Gilbert working for you?" Alfred asked and Ivan raised a brow in slight surprise.

"Nyet," Ivan said simply. "He should be and so he will have to be punished."

"Do you know where he is now?" Alfred asked. Maybe this crazy man knew where Gilbert really was.

"He is with his brother," Ivan stated.

"Do you know _where_?!" Alfred snapped. "I'd kinda like to get my brother back soon!"

"You are not good at interrogations, I will have to remember that, da?" Ivan chuckled. A man walked down the aisle, passing a few other prisoners in their cells before stopping in front of Ivan's. Alfred jumped to attention when he saw that the man was looking through his keys.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Alfred snapped, pushing the man away. "Do you know who this is?"

"Ja," the man nodded before turning back.

"It is quite amazing what money can do, da, Fredka?" Ivan smiled and stood up just as the door opened. "If you have enough, you can do anything you want."

"It's obvious you're using stolen money!" Alfred snapped, taking a step away as Ivan calmly walked out of the cell.

"As long as you have enough," Ivan shrugged, "people are willing to overlook many things."

"You're such a-" Alfred froze when two men grabbed hold of his arms. When he looked back, he saw that it was actual policemen. How much money did Ivan have to bribe them with? "Bastard!"

"Now, now, Fredka," Ivan sighed as another man walked up and gave him his coat. The man notably winced as he moved his left arm into the sleeve. "I do not like having people talk to me like that."

"I can talk however the hell I want to talk!" Alfred snapped, trying to get out of the grips of the apparently really strong guards. "You can't fucking bribe me!"

"I do not need a bribe for those that follow me," Ivan hummed and pulled out a simple switch blade from his coat pocket. The men holding onto Alfred also held onto his head, as if to keep him still, and Alfred felt himself begin to panic. "I just need fear." Ivan pressed the blade onto Alfred's neck, digging in just enough so that no blood came out. Yet. Alfred froze, almost afraid to breathe.

"There, you are quiet now, da?" Ivan said happily and Alfred grit his teeth. This guy didn't know who he was messing with. He was Alfred F. Jones for crying out loud! No villain could beat him, no matter what dirty tactics they used! Ivan hummed and quickly gripped onto Alfred's hair, taking the place of the men holding his head. He pulled roughly on his hair and Alfred winced. "I may go back on my deal. Having you and Gilbert would be a great prize."

"No," Alfred said defiantly and Ivan sighed.

"Now look what you have done," Ivan shook his head. The knife just barely dug into Alfred's throat, but it stung and Alfred felt the blood trickle down his neck. "You need to learn to stay quiet. Gilbert managed."

"Alfred!" Arthur yelled on the other side of the hallway and Alfred froze. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just looked like some pathetic weakling compared to Ivan. He was a hero! But…he was completely terrified. This man could easily end his life right there. Or even his parents'.

"You are too quick," Ivan sighed as Alfred put on the bravest face he could.

"Get the hell off me, you commie bastard," Alfred growled at the man. Ivan simply giggled and removed the knife, though his hand stayed in place in Alfred's hair.

"Ivan, let him go," Elizaveta stated and Alfred heard a gun cock.

"Or you will shoot me in the other arm?" Ivan laughed and turned around, keeping Alfred's hair in his grip. This resulted in Alfred's head tipping and more blood seemed to come out of the wound on Alfred's neck. Alfred winced, but seeing the terrified look on his dad's face, he put up a brave face. He couldn't be terrified now. Someone had to be strong and, as the hero, it had to be Alfred. "You cannot shoot me."

"Try me," Elizaveta growled and Ivan chuckled, looking to the two men that weren't busy keeping Alfred still. They both pulled out guns and pointed them at Elizaveta.

"I paid my bail fairly," Ivan stated. "Now you will let me go."

Elizaveta glared at him for a short while before she let out a sigh and turned on the safety on her gun once again before she dropped it to the ground with a clatter. Ivan nodded in approval before roughly letting Alfred go. The men holding onto him dropped him and Alfred, unable to stand out of fear, fell onto the ground, his hands immediately going to his bleeding neck. Ivan simply passed by the three in the doorway. He patted Francis' head as he left, causing the Frenchman to flinch horribly.

"Alfred," Arthur muttered before quickly running up to Alfred. "What the bloody hell were you thinking!"

"I'm fine, dad," Alfred lied, trying not to show how badly his hands were shaking. "I'm a hero, I'm okay."

"What were you doing?" Elizaveta asked as she helped Alfred to his feet.

"I was trying to get information," Alfred muttered, looking at the floor. "I was trying to see if Ivan and Gilbert really were working together and if he knew where Gilbert is."

"The second all of this is over, you are grounded," Arthur huffed and Alfred could see the tears in his eyes.

"We need to patch up your neck," Francis sighed, ushering them forward. "We can talk about this later."

Alfred just nodded, making sure he didn't look at his bloody hand as they walked. He had to stay strong, like a proper hero.

* * *

"Traitor," Gilbert grumbled, glaring at Matthew's sleeping form on the couch. Gilbert wanted, no, he needed to leave as soon as possible, but it seemed like Matthew was plotting against him.

"So," Ludwig cleared his throat from the doorway into the kitchen, "would you mind telling me why you left and only came back now?"

"'Why'?" Gilbert asked, shaking his head. "The reason why was you."

"I don't understand," Ludwig said.

"When I was taken, I got off on the wrong foot with the bastard in charge," Gilbert sighed. "He wanted to get you, too, probably to kill us both. I became his dog to make sure you were safe. When I ran away from him, I tried to keep him distracted from finding you. That's why we shouldn't have seen each other again."

"He was arrested, Gilbert," Ludwig stated.

"That means shit!" Gilbert snapped. "That means absolute shit! This man has the ability to get anyone in the world to do whatever the hell he wants. That fucking cell will last a good hour on him, at most!" Ludwig opened his mouth to speak, but Gilbert stopped him. "And don't you fucking saying you can take him because I know you can't. I can't. He will go after you to spite me. Matthew, too. That's why I can't stay in one place for too long, otherwise he will catch me. I didn't want to be a fucking criminal, but now I can't stop, because of fucking Ivan!"

"You're not a criminal," Ludwig stated.

"Bullshit," Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"You stole because you had to," Ludwig said. "You saved those two children, you've protected Matthew and myself."

"Think about what I've stolen, Luddie," Gilbert sighed. "Fucking diamonds, cars, people. No matter what you think makes me look like an angel, I'm still a criminal. I still have cops that want to arrest me around every corner. I still can't walk into a building without having an alarm go off."

Ludwig let out a sigh and looked out the window. It had stopped snowing, but the snow was still on the ground. Gilbert had no idea how the man had taken a run out there. Or the dogs, who were currently out in the backyard at that moment.

"As fun as this is," Gilbert sighed, "as soon as Birdie wakes up, I'm leaving."

"Fine," Ludwig stated and turned back around, into the kitchen.

Gilbert groaned and sat down on the ground, looking at Matthew. Why was he so attached to this kid? Why was he waiting for him to wake up rather than just leaving him? He was leaving his own brother without a second thought, but he couldn't leave Matthew. He was so close that one time…but now that they kissed…something was different.

"Why do you call him Birdie?" Ludwig asked from the kitchen.

"I have no fucking clue," Gilbert shrugged, happy that they were changing the subject, at least. He wouldn't really want to leave his brother on bad terms. "It just kinda came to me the first day we met."

"Has he been with you willingly this whole time?" Ludwig asked.

"Uh, most of the time," Gilbert shrugged. "Except for the first day, but who actually wants to be kidnapped?"

"Have you been keeping him just for the money?" Ludwig asked.

"I would have kept him in the country if it was just about the money," Gilbert laughed slightly, falling on his back.

"So you actually care about him?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Gilbert nodded. "He's the first person that's distracted me this much."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I have no fucking clue," Gilbert sighed and glanced at the window again. He really hoped that he wouldn't have to go out if it snowed. What he saw, though made his blood run cold and he was on his feet in a few seconds. "Shit!"

"What is it?" Matthew jerked upright, obviously not even tired.

"You little fucker," Gilbert snapped before looking back at the door. "Luddie, come on, we're running!"

"What?" Ludwig demanded.

"Don't ask questions," Gilbert rushed, quickly lifting Matthew from the couch. "Run." In a matter of seconds, they were out of the house and running down the street.

How the hell did Ivan actually get out that quick? Gilbert knew that he would get out soon but…it just took him by surprise. He couldn't let anyone he cared about get caught. After they got far enough away, he'd make sure that Ludwig would get someplace safe. And Matthew…Gilbert had no idea what he was going to do about Matthew.

* * *

**The title of this chapter was based off of the song "Savin' Me" by Nickelback. I think a lot of their songs work for this fic, especially Gil's side. They're one of my favorite bands, I love them!**

**Anyway, FACE came first this time because of that little cliffhanger I left you with last time! I'm so mean, since I left you with another, kind of, cliffhanger at the end here. Christmas Day is turning out to last quite a while, but I think it'll finally end with the next chapter. Oh and Ivan got a lot more spotlight. Look at him go. Though this just means that he's slipping slightly, considering no one should be able to keep him still long enough to see him… Food for thought, there.**

**Also, to address a few reviewer questions, there will not be RusAme. As much as I would like it, it can't really happen. Ivan's, like, 40 and I'm not exactly against the whole adult x child thing, it's just Alfred wouldn't really go along with it that easily. For now, it's more like Ivan is just teasing him and Alfred is becoming terrified. As much as I would love for Alfred to get a pairing in this fic, he probably won't, sadly.**

**Anywho, please review! It's great!**


	33. Time

Matthew was running as fast as he could. Gilbert's grip on his wrist wasn't loosening any time soon and it seemed like even Ludwig was having a hard time keeping up. Gilbert's eyes frantically looked around, as if he were trying to formulate some kind of plan. Matthew had been really happy that he wasn't actually sleeping when Gilbert started freaking out or starting this run would have been a lot harder.

"Luddie!" Gilbert glanced back at Ludwig. "You gotta gun?"

"When you forced us to leave the house like a lunatic, I thought it would be best to have one," Ludwig stated.

"Great! Hand it over!" Gilbert stretched out his free hand for Ludwig.

"What?" Ludwig glared at him.

"Don't ask questions!" Gilbert snapped and stopped in the middle of some street. One or two people were out and about, most likely since it was Christmas morning. Ludwig sighed and lightly tossed the gun to Gilbert, who quickly examined it before pointing it at the sky. Before Matthew could ask what he was doing, Gilbert shot several times into the air. Matthew winced at every shot and Gilbert kept going until there were no more bullets, and then he dropped the gun. "Come on."

Gilbert began to run again and Matthew had to follow, the grip on his wrist nearing painful. A few more people were out on the streets, quickly followed by a few police cars and Gilbert continued to run. Matthew glanced back, but he couldn't see Ivan. The crowd was getting larger, most likely at the sight of Gilbert Beilschmidt, and Gilbert smirked slightly. So his plan was to get lost in the crowd…

The sirens followed them and a few people on the streets tried to stop them, booing at Gilbert. One even threw a rock that missed. As the crowd slowly grew, they seemed to run even faster. Matthew hadn't even noticed when they had lost Ludwig, but when he looked back, he could no longer see the man.

"Stick close," Gilbert stated, finally letting Matthew go, and continued running. Matthew kept up the pace and followed the man. Gilbert knelt down and picked up a fairly large rock from a park they had passed by and they ran past a small line of parked cars on the street. Gilbert's eyes locked on a red sports car and stopped for just long enough for him to throw the rock into the window, shattering it and causing the alarm to go off. "Get in," he reached his hand in to unlock the door and Matthew simply obeyed, running to the other side of the car.

Gilbert quickly knelt down in the car and began to hotwire it, at least that was what Matthew figured he was doing. Matthew glanced behind them and saw the police cars beginning to get closer.

"How much longer do you think that will take?" Matthew asked.

"Done," Gilbert stated and the car finally started, the engine purring happily. Gilbert didn't even bother to clear the glass before he jumped in and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. Matthew jumped as the car sped down the street, scraping across a few cars along the street.

"Why did you leave him behind?" Matthew demanded. "I know you could have prevented losing him!"

"He'll be better off without me, don't worry," Gilbert stated, looking straight ahead. He swerved around several cars and people, though Matthew simply held onto the seat, trusting the man with his life.

"No, he's not!" Matthew yelled at him. "He's your brother! Brothers are meant to be together and stay together! You can't just abandon him!"

"I'm not!" Gilbert snapped. "You weren't even fucking asleep. You heard us! We don't even fucking get along."

"Brothers aren't supposed to," Matthew rolled his eyes. "Do you think Alfred and I just agree happily on everything? We fight, it's just what brothers do. But you don't just leave him behind! If you hadn't noticed, he hardly cared that you were a criminal. He helped you when he needed it! He loved you like you had only left the day before! You can't just throw that away!"

"It's because I love him, too that I had to leave," Gilbert said through gritted teeth.

"And why am I still with you?" Matthew asked.

"I have no fucking idea," Gilbert stated as they just cleared the city and were racing along a long road at far more than the top speed. "Are you done yelling at me now?"

"I guess," Matthew muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into the seat. "Where are we going?"

"Switzerland," Gilbert stated in response. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to get towards some warmer weather."

"Fine," Matthew sighed.

* * *

"Is he insane?!" Elizaveta snapped, panting as she stood against a wall. Alfred was right next to her, looking down the road that that damned car and just propelled down.

"Did you see Mattie with him?" Alfred asked, rubbing at the bandages over his neck. He could just tell that he was bleeding again. His fathers told him not to exert himself, but he just went ahead and did it anyway. "I couldn't tell."

"I have no idea," Elizaveta shook her head. "And it's still a mystery how he escaped his holding cell in the first place."

"Yeah," Alfred muttered and allowed himself to fall onto the ground. Now that the adrenaline was gone from both close situations, Alfred was crashing. He felt himself begin to shake, though it wasn't due to the cold from around him. "Fuck…"

"Alfred," Elizaveta said and knelt down, next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Ivan is fucking terrifying…" Alfred shook his head. He felt something wet roll down his face, but he didn't let himself believe it was tears.

"It's okay," Elizaveta rubbed his back soothingly and it did, actually help. "We're going to make sure he won't be able to get to you again."

"Just…just the idea of…" Alfred could hardly bring himself to speak in a solid sentence. The man had a fucking knife to his throat! He was just messing with Alfred and he knew full well that the man could actually take him any time he wanted. Then Alfred's whole life would be like that.

"You don't have to say anything," Elizaveta said. "Just let it out. It's fine." For once in his life, Alfred actually let himself cry. He was still shaking as he felt his bandaged neck. Once he had started, he couldn't stop. Sobs wracked his body as he tried to chase away the images and thoughts of what would happen to him. "You know, even heroes have to cry sometimes," Elizaveta said. "You guys go through a lot of shit, I'm surprised you don't cry more often. I guess that's just part of the gig, huh? You make sure you don't cry. That has to be hard, though. I can't even count how many times I've cried."

"Y-you…" Alfred muttered.

"I think I see your parents coming," Elizaveta sighed and Alfred swiftly wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to calm himself down. He couldn't let his parents see…no way in hell. He didn't even know how he let himself cry in front of Elizaveta. She'd been the only one to see it. "I'll give you some time to calm down," Elizaveta smiled warmly at him before getting up and walking over to Arthur and Francis, who had some other guy with them. He had slicked back blonde hair and light blue eyes and looked insanely muscular. Maybe he was another police officer or something, Alfred didn't know.

At that moment, he focused on making it look like he hadn't just been crying. He was used to holding it back, that was easy, but his face was still red and puffy and he hated himself for it. Alfred then glanced over at a small pile of snow and bit his lip. It would give him an excuse to laugh about…

And so Alfred shoved his face into the snow, making sure to get his hair fairly wet, too. After that, he quickly got up and happily walked over to his parents and their random guest.

"Hey, guys, sorry, I totally ate it and fell into the snow!" Alfred laughed as he walked up to the group. Elizaveta grinned slightly at him.

"Of course you would," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Alfred, this is Ludwig, Gilbert's brother."

"No shit, dude," Alfred smiled at the man and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Alfred."

"Yes, nice to meet you," Ludwig said in a deep voice. "You look quite a lot like your brother."

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Alfred laughed. "We used to trick people all the time, it was hilarious!"

"It was not amusing for those of us getting tricked," Francis muttered.

"Oh, come on, we're twins!" Alfred rolled his eyes. "Of course we had to pull a Parent Trap thing!"

"It was hardly similar," Arthur sighed. "Anyway, it seems as though Ludwig has the answer as to how Gilbert escaped."

"Yeah?" Elizaveta asked, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side.

"Ja," Ludwig nodded, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I admit that I released him."

"Why?" Alfred asked before he could stop himself. Arthur gave him a small glare but Alfred easily ignored it.

"He is my brother," Ludwig sighed. "I hadn't seen him in fifteen years."

"And it was Christmas," Elizaveta nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. I won't tell anyone."

"Why would you-"

"He would have escaped anyway, knowing him," Elizaveta shrugged. "Though I am curious if he told you anything."

"All he told me was a little about a man named Ivan," Ludwig stated.

"My brother was with him, right?" Alfred pressed, trying his best to ignore the name Ivan. "Was he okay?"

"He was fine," Ludwig nodded. "For some reason they were on the roof this morning, so he might have gotten frostbite."

"That's perfectly fine," Alfred nodded happily. It was great to know that Matthew was okay, despite everything. Ivan might have been after them, but Matthew was perfectly fine. At least Gilbert was doing his job and protected him.

"Let's have a little talk about what you know, okay?" Elizaveta asked and began leading the man away. "You can just talk to me and I'll make sure you keep your job, alright?"

"Fine," Ludwig nodded and followed her as they walked away. Alfred, Arthur, and Francis stayed where they were.

"So, you fell into the snow?" Francis asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, there must have been some ice or something," Alfred shrugged, laughing it off. His face was freezing, but at least he had an excuse for the way his face looked.

"You need to be more careful," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "It looks like you're about to bleed through your bandage."

"Right…" Alfred rubbed at his neck. "Sorry, dude."

"Apologize to yourself," Arthur sighed, pulling some gauze from his pocket and walking up to Alfred. "Now, stay still while I fix this."

"Sure," Alfred muttered, tilting his head up slightly so Arthur could reach better.

"Did you see how Gilbert got away?" Francis asked.

"Yeah, they jacked a Ferrari, by the looks of it," Alfred nodded. He remembered seeing Gilbert actually able to throw a brick at it to smash the window. Alfred didn't know how anyone could actually stand to do such a thing to such a gorgeous car.

"Quit talking," Arthur sighed and carefully took off the bandage currently on Alfred's neck. "Francis, don't ask him any questions until I'm done."

"Oui, oui," Francis sighed with a wave of his hand. "You know, mon cher, you are a very protective father."

"Don't I have to be in this situation?" Arthur sighed as he wrapped the gauze around Alfred's neck.

"Well, at least we know Matthieu is safe," Francis hummed.

"And as soon as Elizaveta is done talking with Ludwig, we will follow them," Arthur stated. "Wherever it is they are going."

"Well, it seems they are going South," Francis sighed as Arthur stepped back and Alfred smiled, rubbing slightly at his neck. "And since Gilbert seems to have done enough in Germany, my guess is that he is going to Switzerland."

"Where was all this knowledge when we were looking for him before?" Alfred asked.

"It has taken me a while to go back to thinking like a criminal," Francis chuckled. "I am still not fully there, though I am close."

"Try not to get very used to it," Arthur sighed and looked over to where Elizaveta stood, talking with Ludwig. "In any case, we should call the car. We have no clue where in Switzerland he is going and so the jet may not be the best course of action."

"Yeah, whatever you say," Alfred muttered. "But we're losing time just standing around and talking."

"Since when are you this serious, mon fils?" Francis chuckled and Alfred sighed.

"My brother still isn't with us," Alfred sighed. "I have to be serious."

* * *

**Elizaveta in this chapter is so, incredibly sweet, I love her so much! And it seems as though Gil and Mattie have had a little lover's quarrel… Hm… **

**Anywho…I'm am very sad to say this, and I know you all will be dreading these words, but I will be going on a two week hiatus. For a lot of stories, two weeks isn't really a long time, but for me it is. I need to, for one, catch up on this story, since I am no longer ahead. I also have to write something for New Years, 'cause I'm nice like that. Then there's the fact that I'm writing my own novel and I need to edit it right now. So, two weeks, about, and then I will see you all again. Don't worry, I'm not losing interest in this story, I still have so many plans for it, it's just that I need to catch up on stuff and I don't have as much free time as I thought for my Winter Break. On the bright side, I didn't give you a cliffhanger this time!**

**And please review! It may get me back here sooner! (Oh, and that thing for New Years, it's gonna be PruCan. So look out for that!)**


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